Rise of the Titans
by RosarioVampireBoy
Summary: After the destruction came death and after death came rebirth. The story of the Titans is known by all and for a young mage named Malik he's about to experience what it's like to be one of the Titans. Now a new student at Kizzo's Academy for Magic and Swordsmanship he will study hard, make the grades and for his life not die trying. A whole new world opens up when the past repeats.
1. Chapter 1 A Fresh Start

Rise of the Titans

Chapter 1

A Fresh Start

Sun, Earth, Nature, Ocean, Darkness, Light, and Shadow, all these combined made up the world and what it turned into. A world of freedom and peace for those who inhabited it and watching over these very beings were none other than those elements themselves. Commonly known as the Titans these beings were not like those of mages or elves but instead something far greater, they were gods. With their own power they governed their own element and used their powers to protect the inhabitants of the world. One day though that all changed when a day of tragedy struck. Two Titans fell in a last attempt to save their children from certain destruction. They both vanished without a and were never seen again. As time passed others from their family took over their positions until one day they would both return and when they did the world would need not just them but everyone.

Well the day had finally come, he was no longer a small child from a remote village in the north but instead a mage swordsman in training. For years he had been training with his father in hope of becoming a great mage just like his uncle had become years ago, but for him that wasn't exactly the easiest thing. The problem was for as much time as he spent studying the different elements and the different types of spells he could never control them except for one, fire. For some strange reason the element of fire just came naturally to him but as for the rest he could never truly use them. He never gave up though and just a few months ago he decided he wanted to attend the Kizzo Academy of Magic and Swordsmanship, a school specifically meant to train those who were willing to go to great lengths to improve their skills. Many famous mages and swordsman had graduated from the academy but many had also failed and were left on their own to train, but with all his power he was determined to succeed.

For young Malik Sinder the day had only just begun as he along with many of his fellow magic users relaxed on the flying ship that were taking them to their new home. For most of his life he had been teased and picked on because of his lack of magical abilities and especially for his spiky brown hair, seriously why hadn't he gotten a haircut at that point? His head looked like a porcupine. Still even if he wasn't the most talented magic user he still had his backup. All he had to do was reach into his pocket to find the answer.

"Crimson Virgin, great name dad." he groaned as he held in his hand a simple hilt and guard.

What was with his dad and giving his weapons strange names? The Crimson Virgin? What was next the Wild Stallion? The Mean Bean? Sometimes he wondered how he even got through his own school days without getting picked on. Still his future wasn't far ahead and soon he would show everyone what the Sinder family could really do. Now if any he could of renamed his blade.

As he spun the hilt around he noticed that people were starting to line the guard railing as they closed in on their destination. Once he got up and grabbed his bag he saw it, the stone barrier that surrounded the academy's perimeters while its clock tower barely poked out from the center. Just from looking at it from the sky he could tell that it wasn't just any ordinary academy. No doubt everyone was excited to get inside as their ride began descending slowly to the ground while the core inside the ship began to shut off. As he watched the buildings disappear behind the giant wall he just thought to himself that for the next four years that would be his new home, no more murky streets, no more thugs to take his silver, and no more rats that would eat his food. He could feel it, a new life was about to open up.

Once the ship touched down and the ramp was let down everyone began their little walk to the entrance that seemed to have been blocked. That was strange in the manual he hadn't heard of the bridge ever being up like that before. How else were they going to get inside? Perhaps the giants that were guarding the entrance could tell them. They certainly looked intimidating as they all approached the side of the mote before one of the giant beasts slammed the tip of his huge ax into the ground.

"Hahah looks like we have some fresh meat here today Taizo!" one yelled as the other looked over them all.

"Indeed Kareo but the question is are they prepared for the challenges ahead?"

For most of them seeing giants out of the mountains and woods was a very uncommon things. They normally weren't harmful unless they were provoked but the two that kept them from getting in looked much taller than most giants. The armor they wore must have taken weeks to craft as well as their axes.

"Alright listen up you worms! You're about to enter the academy but be warned, this school does not take kindly to slackers. If you want to thrive here you're going to need more than just a few spells to get by. Skills and patients is what will drive you here and whether you sink or swim is up to you. If you truly believe you can get by here then proceed on inside but if you want to take off then that's fine with us." he said as his partner began pulling the bridge down.

Now his stomach had just formed a knot. Could he truly live in such a place where things beyond his capabilities were needed? Was the academy really his new home? No, he couldn't just walk away. After years of training and studying in his mind he felt as if he could tackle any obstacle no matter how big it was. Even if the elemental magics weren't his forte that didn't matter, there were still plenty of other spells for him to learn and with the Crimson Virgin at his side he was prepared for any challenge. God he hated that name.

As they all walked through some stood in amazement at what they saw. Shops and cafes littered the streets, shops that carried many different charms and items for potions and healing items. Not only that but compared to the other academies Zizzo actually had color to it. No longer did he feel like he was in a prison but instead a fresh, new home. With his backpack flung over his shoulders he began making his way to the Main Hall where orientation was suppose to have been happening. From looking at his watch though he had plenty of time to get there.

"Alright so orientation then I'll head to my room and start putting things away." he thought to himself just before he bumped into someone.

"Hm?" he heard her ask as she turned around.

Wow, her hair looked like...it had ketchup in it. Seriously the tips of her hairs had red on them and that wasn't just around her head either, it also ran down the long ponytail on the back as well. Something seemed kind of off about her though but when he looked at her clothes it came to him. Unlike him she wore the clothes of the wealthy, she must have been loaded.

"Oh uh sorry, gotta run!" he said as he began running towards the Main Hall near the center of the town.

Yeah if there was one thing he had no luck with it was girl especially with girls that beautiful. That hourglass figure, those crystal blue eyes, those large nope! He couldn't think such things about a girl he had just seen. She was very cute though but per the norm the rich never really wanted to associate with the middle class such as himself. At least he had his navy blue jacket and pants right? That was something.

Looking at the clock the hands were almost at noon which meant his orientation was about to start. With all the power in his legs he began running towards the biggest building around which on his map said was the Main Hall. Once he ran up the steps he looked at his watch and saw he had only a minute to spare.

"Phew thank you goddess." he said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.'

With both hands he pushed the doors open as a bright light began shining in his face. From what he could tell he had yet to miss it but the bad news was most of the spots were taken all except for a few at the very back table and the end of the row. Well it was better than nothing he supposed as he made his way around the other tables. From the look of things though almost everyone that he had seen on the boat was there but then again there were over a hundred of them on it so he could have been wrong.

"Oi, well I guess this will have to do." he said as he planted his butt at the very end of the table.

Just when he though he had some time to relax the lights went out as a single light shined down on a single podium at the front of the hall before a puff of white smoke engulfed it. What kind of trick was that? Teleportation could only have been done by more higher classes mages. If that was the case then it was him.

"Greetings everyone and welcome to my academy! We all do hope you have a wonderful time here and don't let those jerks outside of the school scare you, here everyone is welcome." said the man who had appeared from the smoke.

So it was him, Alex Tailer. Class A mage, Thirty eight years old and still his appearance said twenties. That hair of his though, slicked back and combed nicely, those emerald green eyes looked out over the crowd before he adjusted his tie.

"Here we try to strive to bring out the best in our fellow mages and swordsman and by any means we will bring it out. Here it's best to keep up with your studies and to never slack on your work. The work here may intimidate you but it will all be worth it when you walk out of here looking like a new person. You will find your dorm room numbers right in front of you as well as the rules of this school."

Right in front of him? When he looked down in front of him though there it sat, a folder with his name on it. When he opened it up he saw a few pages stapled together that spelled out the rules and in the corner of the front page was a number.

"Room 263 huh?"

Since he had everything he saw no reason he could leave to check out his room.


	2. Chapter 2 An Interesting Surprise

Chapter 2

An Interesting Surprise

So he had finally arrived, after an hour of looking around the town and going into what shops interested him the most he had finally arrived at the student building and damn. Nothing could compare to it. Not only had it been crafted from the finest marble and stone but on the outside there were murals of certain events that happened in their world ranging from the beginning of magical kind to the war of the titans. Every little detain had been etched into the stone and on the sides of the stairs that lead up were two statues of the rare but legendary Hell Spawn Drago. According to legend the Hell Spawn Drago use to he the Demon Lords own personal pet and those who tried to escape their punishment would only feel the stinging pain of its fire. That was only the outside though.

After a little walk up the stairs he found himself in front of two wooden double doors. What struck him as strange though was that no one else was within sight. From what he could see he was the only one there while the others were out probably exploring just as he had been doing before. Oh well that only meant for peace and quite. Once he pushed open the doors he was greeted by a gust of wind that blew over him as he walked in before it died down.

"Oh man...you've got to be kidding me." he said as a big smile spread across his face.

This one building had just beat the living hell out of every other academy he had been to. None were as fantastic looking as the one he was in. Paintings of the academy's founders covered the walls while the floor below him looked to have been created by numerous different gems of all colors. Not only that but in between the two stairs that led up to the rooms were two statues. At first he couldn't tell who they were of but as he got close it became clear. Sculpted for their building had been two statues, one of the Demon Lord Sephalor and the Goddess of Light Rei. Both had equisit details added to them from Sephalor's battle armor to his head of finely groomed hair to Rei's goddess like body. They almost looked real. For their sacrifice he just had to take a knee for them. If it hadn't been for them he probably wouldn't have been born. When he opened his eyes though he noticed something strange when he looked to his right.

It was her, the same girl from that very same morning. Oh boy, he only hoped that she wasn't mad at him for almost knocking her over but instead she seemed rather happy. For what reason? He had no clue. Did he care? He was only curious. As he knelt there though he noticed for a split second that she had taken out what looked like a sketch pad. Strange, normally only artists carried those in case they wanted to drawn something in it. His curiosity began to get the better of him as he stood up.

"One little peak wouldn't hurt right?" he asked himself as he began walking towards the stairs to his right.

Just one peak and after that he wouldn't do it again. Once the pad came within view his eyes quickly moved over as he passed her only to find something kind of disturbing.

"Me?" he asked inside his head a he looked back at her.

On the piece of paper wasn't a drawing of the statues or nature but instead his own face from the tips of his hair to his shoulders. Why had she drawn him?! It confused him to no end as he turned one last time just to look at it one last time only to find her gaze had switched to him. Those crystal blue eyes were focused only on him as she gave him a little smile. How was he to react to that? Perhaps just a little wave? Yeah that was it just wave and walk away.

Perhaps he was just overreacting, maybe something about him interested her and she just had to draw him. Could it have been though that maybe she liked him? They had only met once before but could she have really taken a liking to him just in that once moment? Whatever it was he just wanted to let it roll out of his head while he relaxed. The trip up sure didn't take long though of course he was still wrapped up in his own thoughts but once he saw his room number he grabbed his key and popped it into the lock and with one turn the door popped open.

"Oh yes, hah good going Malik!" he exclaimed excitedly as he closed the door.

Two beds, one flat screen, a decent sized kitchen, a nice decorated bathrooms, and a freaking chandelier that hung above his head. How he had gotten so lucky was anyone's guess but it was awesome. Were all the rooms identical? If so then the dean had spared no expense to make sure their stay was luxurious. What was he to do first? Take a bath or watch T.V until night fell? Well judging from his smell he felt it was time to freshen up. After being out in the sun for most of the day his sweat had clung to his shirt and jacket and now it was starting to show.

With the water running he threw off all his clothes before he reached into his bag to grab a clean set. Once he stopped the water he tested the water first to make sure it wasn't too hot before he stepped in and slumped down.

"Paradise..." he sighed as the waters warm embrace began to wash over his body.

It sure beat the hell out of his home bath that was for sure. If he was home and in his tub his toes would have been freezing thanks to his dad but instead he could finally relax without having to worry about purple toes. As he washed up though he thought back to what his uncle had told him before he left that morning. "Don't be afraid to make allies and when victory seems impossible you will shine through.".

"Don't be afraid to make allies? Hm, sure I guess it couldn't hurt." he said as she stretched his arms.

If he was to graduate he was going to need help and in order to get it he was going to need friends. The question was who? His only strengths were fire, sword fighting and medical arts but that was about it. If he was to find friends he was going to have to be more of use than in just those three areas. Those thoughts vanished however when he unplugged the drain and jumped out of the tub. With his body all clean and fresh it was time to kick back and relax until the next day that was things would get interesting.

"Come on stay down." he groaned as he tried to comb his hair.

It was all for not though, as soon as it all began laying down it shot right back up. Whatever, if it wanted to stay up then so be it. Once he sat his comb down he slipped into his new pants, shirt, and jacket before he opened up the door. Something was off though as he walked back in he could feel it. As his eyes scanned the room everything seemed normal and still in place. His mind had to be playing tricks on him, if everything looked normal then everything was normal.

"Good going mind but you're not tricking me this time." he said as he grabbed the remote from the table.

Once he jumped onto the bed next to the window that's when things got strange. As soon as his back hit the bed he felt something strange under him before he was sent flying into the ceiling before he was sent back against the wall. As he groaned one thought came to mind, wind element. Whatever was under there knew how to manipulate the wind. What was it though, some kind of beast? His question was answered though as he heard a soft voice.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry! I didn't know you were here and I fell asleep..." he rambled on.

His vision might have been a bit wonky thanks to those attacks but he couldn't forget that clothing anywhere. As he stood up he was met with those crystal eyes looking right at him. There was no way.

"It's alright I just hit my head." he asked as he massaged his temples.

How his head hurt but more importantly why was she in his room?! How did she get in? He could have sworn he had locked the door after he had entered.

"I'm sorry, I guess I shouldn't have been so aggressive huh?" she said as she let out a nervous laugh.

Yeah it was her alright. The same exact damn girl. Why was it that wherever he went she was there? Could it have been that she was a stalker? No, someone with that pretty of a face couldn't have been one. So what was she doing in there?

"It's ok but why are you here? Don't you have your own room?" he asked as his vision came back into focus as he saw that black and red hair flowing behind her.

"Hehe no silly didn't you read the rule sheets? It's co-ed, I'm your roommate." she replied excitedly.

"You're kidding right? Co-ed? They do that here?"

"Yep, but you don't mind me staying here do you?"

How could he have said no to her? She seemed nice enough and it would probably be better than having a constantly loud guy roommate.

"Sure but do me a favor. Don't toss me around again alright?" he asked of her.

"Roger! Oh I guess I was so caught up with what just happened that I forgot to introduce myself. Dummy me. I'm Mia Kaizoku." he said as she extended her hand.

"Malik Sinder, sorry about jumping on ya. I guess I should have been a bit more careful." he said as he took her hand.

Once she put on a smile he had to as well as they shook hands. The gods must have been smiling at him for him to have such luck, kind of.


	3. Chapter 3 Scars of the Past

Chapter 3

Scars of the Past

Who was this girl and why had she taken a liking to him so quickly? Well why did it matter anyways, even if she was a girl she certainly didn't act like one when it came to eating. Yes sir she was a power eater and somehow she had managed to keep that figure of hers. She must have exercised or something because from the amount she ate she should have been bloated up. All he did was watch her as he ate his bowl of freshly cooked noodles while she consumed her pizza, mushroom stew, and cola.

"Oh yeah that hit the spot..." she sighed as she rubbed her tummy.

"Geez, where did it all go and why aren't you a balloon right now?" he asked as he drank the flavorful soup at the bottom of the bowl.

"Heh sorry but don't worry I don't eat like this normally only when I don't eat a good breakfast, but for some reason the women in my family never grow any bigger no matter how much we eat. Strange huh?"

"Yeah, you're family... about them aren't you, you know, rich?"

"Oh yes we but how did you know?"

"Your clothes kind of gave it away." he replied as he looked off to the side.

"My clothes? Oh right, you don't have clothes like this do you?"

All he could do was shake his head as he tried to look back up at her.

"Don't look at the chest, don't look at the chest." he thought over and over as his eyes rose back to her own.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"No it's just, where I'm from the wealthy aren't exactly the kindest of people. One family even got my dad arrested because the charms they wanted weren't perfectly cut. Sometimes they cause trouble in the local bar as well. I-I don't meant you though you're nice and all, it's just me! I haven't had the best experiences with them."

If what he had said was true then no wonder he ran away from her that morning. He probably thought she would have scolded him for just bumping into her. Still she understood why he had a bit of a bias towards the wealthy if one truly did arrest his dad for such a stupid thing.

"Does this mean you don't want to be friends anymore?"

"What, why would you think that? I mean yeah I may not take kindly to the wealthy who do stupid crap like what they did to my dad but you're different. You're not snobby or big headed as the others. Sorry if I gave you that impression though." he said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Really? You're not pulling my leg are you?" she asked suspiciously.

"Heh no I really do mean it. By the way you have a little something on your..." he said as he pointed to the side of his mouth.

When she ran a cloth over the side of her mouth she saw she had a piece of cheese still stuck to her face from the pizza. Just looking at him she knew they were going to be good friends. She hadn't told him but through most of her life she hadn't even been to a real school but instead had been home schooled by a series teachers that her parents had hired. Just to be out of the house and actually making real friends really felt good to her.

Everything seemed to had been going good when they heard a humming sound beginning to approach them. From under him Malik's chair was swept out as what could only be described as a big green dome of some sort pushed Mia and the furniture out of the way. What was this and why was he inside of it?

"A barrier, figures. Why though?" he asked himself as he tapped on the slid surface of the dome.

"Ugh, are you alright?" she asked as she jumped back to her feet.

"Yeah but what is this about?" he asked as he searched for an exit.

Was this some sort of test for freshmen? If so then it was a damn weird one. From what he could gather there was no exit, he was trapped like a rat.

"Hey guys look what I found, fresh meat!" he heard come from behind him.

When he turned around to face whoever had captured him he saw a boy who wore nothing more than a tank top and a pair of shirts, no shoes or gloves. Why had he done it though? He hadn't known him or even seen him for that matter.

"Alright what's going on here?" he asked.

"Why it's a fight of course, haven't you ever been in one?"

"OK that was the simple question now here's the tough one. Why?"

"Why? Do you fresh meat know anything? Here fighting is the only way to root out the weakling. Those who can survive long enough are welcome to stay, but lose and your ass is out of here."

Well that sucked, but judging by how big the boys ego was he deducted that it would be his downfall in the end. Even if he only had fire on his side there was still his back up plan. In any case he had to at least try.

"Alright then so I take it once one of us are beaten the barrier will disappear am I right?"

"You learn fast kid, but that's only when I win. Third year Sagura Kimoshi!"

Just hearing him was giving him a headache, but since he was trapped he had no other choice. Even if he didn't like to use his powers against the innocent if it was fight he needed to win in order to escape then he had to at least try. If he won then maybe he would get some respect, but if he lost how would he look then? Like a fool who got too cocky.

"Come on already! I thought we were going to fight!" he heard his pest yell.

"Can you take him?" she asked.

"Maybe, but you can never be too careful." he said as he stepped forward.

"So you're finally ready are you?"

"Hold on let me get a bit more comfortable."

With the sun as hot as it was he would of burned out as quick as the fight would have started. With only his tank top on the nice breeze was able to cool him down, but that wasn't what caught the crowds attention. Running up and down his arms were burn marks and scars, from his shoulders to his wrists they ran.

"What in the hell did you do to yourself man?" asked Sahura.

"Oh this, it's something called training. Yeah I got some removed but I kept others as a reminder of what could happen if I'm careless."

That face of his, it was no longer cheerful but instead excited and serious. Had he really trained that hard that he ended up scaring his own body she thought to herself, but that wasn't all. Looking at his back she could see more burn marks that ran up his neck. When he said he had trained hard he hadn't been joking and his body was proof of that.

"So what? You think just because you have a few scars that you're stronger than me?"

"That depends, are you willing to take that chance?" he replied as he got into his fighting position.

It was time to see if all that training had paid off for him in the long run.


	4. Chapter 4 Victory to Whom?

Chapter 4

Victory to Whom?

So it had finally come and on the first day nonetheless. If he managed to defeat Segura then maybe he would gain some respect from his fellow students, but only time would tell. The guy was ripped though and no doubt he was strong but the question was how strong? What kind of moves did he know? Well the only way to find out was to engage him but just in case things went wrong he had a little back up plan just in case.

The tension grew as everyone watched them just stare at each other with the intensity of two war rivals. Their eyes were glowing with the heat of battle as both prepared their first attack. Whatever he was going to do Malik knew he would have to be quick and careful in order to avoid taking any damage.

"Thousand year needles!" yelled Segura.

There is was, once he saw him raise his hand six separate dagger like weapons began shooting out as he stood there for only a second. Once they were within range his body began dodging and twisting around the blades as each one passed him by, but that wasn't all he did. As he dodged each dagger was grabbed and once they were all within his hand he lit them all on fire and threw them straight back.

"Not bad, I'm surprised you're that flexible but it's going to take more than redirecting my attacks to beat me." he said as he kicked up the ground to create a little wall to block all the blades.

Segura knew he was being cocky but what he didn't know was how strong his opponent really was. As soon as that wall crumbled to pieces his opponent began throwing out rapid punches like none ones business. Left, right, right, left, they came from all directions as he used his arms to blocks the swift punches. He could feel it, with each punch he threw he could feel himself getting closer to victory. Once his fist had been engulfed in flames he knew it was time to show him who was boss. He wound up for one good punch when he felt a gust of wing blast him as it sent his feet skidding across the ground.

"This fresh meat may not look it but he's packing some serious heat in those punches. Still it's not over yet." Segura thought to himself as he caught his breathe.

Now was his chance, with Segura out of breathe he had a clean opening to strike. What he didn't know was that his fist of judgment was only a distraction while his real intentions lied in one finger. Once he whipped his right hand out from behind his back a small flame ignited on the tip of his index finger.

"Fire Storm Ozagi!"

With a pull of his mind trigger a large blast of fire erupted from his finger and began homing in on its target. With all his heart and mind he kept hoping it would hit as his new friend watched on the sidelines. How embarrassing would it have been if he got squashed in his first fight? Luck wasn't on his side however for when his opponent raised his head he held out both hands just before the flames could strike and before he knew it Segura held in his hands his fire now contained within some kind of space between his hands.

"A vacuum, but that's a level three type spell. How did you...?"

"I guess you should have stepped away when you had the chance. Even if you have a few flames up your sleeve you're still no match for a third year!"

With a sudden burst of air the vacuum exploded before a fury of fireballs began to target their old master. The area inside the barrier was still pretty a pretty good size but even with the amount of room he couldn't avoid getting grazed by the flames. The pain of training with his uncle began to return as he continued the dodge and roll out of the way as the fury of fire continued.

As she watched him attempt to dodge the attacks she could only pray that he would stay safe through the whole event. If only she could have entered the barrier and get in on the action she could have had that guy down in no time with her own blade, but with the barrier sealed off his only chance of escape was to fight and win.

"Please stay safe." was the only thought that ran through her mind as she saw the barrage of fireball cease.

As he stood back up the pain of the fresh burn marks began to set in. They may not have been large but it still hurt like hell, but even so he couldn't let something so small stop him from fighting.

"It's been a nice fight kid but you just can't cut it can you?" asked Segura as he placed both hands onto the ground.

He wasn't screwing around anymore, as soon as his fingers touched the cement below his arms began to change. From the look of it his arms seemed to have been absorbing the substance until both arms were completely stone. With only a snicker to warn him though Segura began his assault with his own fists of fury.

"This is it!" he thought loudly as he reached into his pocket.

With one toss he let the grip fly as his opponent closed in. For a big guy he was pretty fast, but not fast enough to keep him from grabbing his arm. With one pull he forced him down to the ground before he took a step onto his back and kicked off. With his newly gained flight he reached up and grabbed the guard just in time before he began falling back down.

"What was that?" groaned Segura as he jumped back up.

In his hand he held a pure black blade the shined in the sunlight. Thanks to his dad he had a second option but how long would it hold against those concrete arms? He was going have to finish him off or else that blade of his would snap in half then he would have nothing to defend with. Once his opponent began to next assault he stood ready for what was to come. With those fists flying through the air he held up his blade to guard as he was pushed back towards the barrier.

"Hah what a nice trick kid, but a small blade like that won't stop me. With the elements out of your control and once this blade snaps you're finished." he said with a grin as he raised both arms to finish the sword off.

"Wrong move man." he replied.

With his weakness unguarded he took the chance and rammed his foot straight between his legs. It might have been dirty but so was trapping him inside the barrier to begin with.

"Ugh, nut shot...not cool bro." he groaned loudly as he fell to his knees.

"Sorry about that here let me help you up."

With his foe down and his fists lit aflame he delivered his finishing move. As soon as he threw the punch a bigger fist appeared from the flames and sent him flying into the air before the young fire mage jumped up to him. With a fury of fire based punches he gave him a few marks before he moved above and lifted his feet.

"Not bad, for fresh meat..." he groaned as he closed his eyes.

That was nice of him, but that wasn't going to stop his attack. With one heel to the chest he sent him flying down to the ground with a thunderous boom. Once he touched down though the barrier shattered as he stood victorious. All he could hear though was the mumbling of his fellow students as his body rocked back and forth.

"Hey Malik are you OK? Do you need me to bring you back to the room?" asked Mia as she walked over to him.

"No I'm fine perfectly OK but I could use a bed..."

That fight had taken more out of him than he thought, so much so that he couldn't hold himself up anymore as he fell backwards to the ground and onto his jacket. As she watched him doze off she could see the happy smile he had on his face after his first victory. If he hadn't had the sword he may have been done for. When she looked over at Segura though he seemed to still be alive but out as well. Both had drained much of their power and deserved a good rest so with that she picked up her roommate along with his jacket and began walking him back to the room.

Later that night...

If he was going to be prepared he was going to need to know all the rules of this game they were playing. If he had to fight whoever challenged him then that left no room to screw up, he had to get even better. Meanwhile in the kitchen Mia began whipping them up a bit of dinner with the supplies she had bought shortly after the fight while he was sitting in his bed just staring at the rules sheet.

"Kinga Kura Gai, the barrier of challenge. You would think they would put that on the front page. Let's see, a challenge can not be forfeited once inside the barrier. Only two people may be challenged at a time in thus it will become a Team Battle as such both teams can only choose... Ugh, brain fart." he said to himself as he tossed the papers next to his lamp.

With his classes only a nights rest away he had no time to train unless he wanted to break the curfew in which he would be punished for. That fight with Segura taught him something though, even if one sounded cocky he couldn't let his guard down no matter what. He was lucky to have won but in a way he also felt bad. Racking the guy probably wasn't the most honorable way to get him to his knees.

"Dinner has arrived." she said as she walked from the kitchen opening.

From the scent of the food it smelled really good. It was the typical stuff though, honey soaked chicken, rice and shrimp stew but even so he was still very thankful she knew how to cook. He had no experience so he would have probably died from eating his own garbage. Once he had his plate he went straight for the chicken, his personal favorite.

"How is it? I hope I didn't over season it or anything." he asked as she sat down.

"It's a bit salty but really good. Where did you learn to cook like this?"

"Oh I just practiced with my mother and I eventually got the hang of it. I prefer the honey chicken and stew myself though." she replied as she took a bite.

"You don't say. This is great though and thanks for doing this."

"Heh it's no problem, when you need something tasty to eat just come to me and I'll whip you up something. No dish is too challenging for me!" she boasted.

"Heh you're getting a little cocky there now."

"I know, but I'll do whatever it takes to serve a good meal."

As much as he liked that offer he didn't want to give her the feeling he liked her just because of her cooking. Still on top of being a great cook she looked very cute and she seemed very friendly, just looking at her in the apron with barely anything under it made him blush. As they watched the moon rise up into the sky darkness began to cover the academy as their first day came to a close.


	5. Chapter 5 Two Friends Collide

Chapter 5

Two Friends Collide

The sound of his alarm clock continued to ring inside his head as the suns rays began to peak through the blinds of their room. As he opened his eyes it all began to return to him, they had both stayed up pretty late to prepare for their first day and it seemed they hadn't even gotten under the covers. That blasted ringing though, it had to stop. Once he grabbed that clock though he noticed imminently that something was wrong. His yell echoed through the building as he got up out of bed.

"Hey come on wake up! We're late!" he exclaimed as he threw his pillows at the sleeping Mia.

They couldn't be late on their first day, if they were they would look like slackers and that was no good. As he raced to his closet to grab a fresh set of clothes she woke up only to look at him funny. She had been having the best dream when he threw the sacks of fluff at her head, but what was he so spastic about?

"What's wrong with you? Ants in your pants?" she asked.

"Look at the clock." he said as he slipped his shoes on.

"My clock what do you mean by tha~"

But when she picked it up she too saw what was wrong. It was eight o'clock and classes started at seven fifty, if they didn't hurry up and get to their first class they would be penalized. As soon as he was ready though she hopped into her own closet only to reappear wearing the same outfit she had before just cleaner. It was clear she didn't want to make a bad impression on her first day and neither did he.

"Quick, what's our first class?" she asked as she slipped into her white shoes.

"Physical Training, it's to the north west of here so if we~"

They had no time to waist, with a grab of his jack collar she jumped out the window and pulled him along with her. At first it seemed she had gone insane but suddenly a gust of wind caught them as she began to run on the current while also dragging her friend behind her. Oh if her parents found out she was late they would have probably thought it was because of him.

"Ugh could you slow down...just a bit?" he asked as he was dragged on top of the roofs.

"No time, much reach class."

Oh gods, thanks to all her jumping and running his stomach had begun to act up, if they didn't stop quick they would be seeing his dinner again. According to their schedules the class wasn't in a building but instead met outside near the training arena, seemed reasonable enough. Once they landed on the roof of the final building he prayed to their saviors for their mercy.

"There they are, come on."

"Oh come on!"

With a kick off the roof they both went soaring through the air as they moved towards the group of fellow students. From the look of it their instructor had yet to arrive which was good news for them. He didn't know how much more he could take but as luck had it in just mere second they hit the ground in front of the entire group.

"And we stick the landing! Wasn't that fun Malik? Malik?"

Oh he wasn't feeling too good. Stomach was churning, head was spinning, eyes were hazy, he had just gotten dragged over gods only knew how many rooftops before they arrived. In short, he felt like complete crap. Although once his vision returned and his head stopped pounding his eyes were drawn to the crowd behind them who seemed to have been rather confused at what they had just seen.

"Oh thank the gods, are you alright? Do you need any water?" she asked as she pulled him to his feet.

"Ugh no, but can I tell you something?" he asked as he dusted off his clothes.

"Hm?"

"Don't ever do that again. Seriously I don't do to well being pulled behind like a ragdoll thank you."

"Hey come on, at least we arrived without the teacher noticing."

Oh how wrong they were, just when they thought they were home free they felt two powerful hands grab the top of their skulls before a feeling of pressure began to overcome their head while the hands squeezed their craniums harder and harder. As the pain rushed through their skulls they started to feel a bit uneasy as they sensed a large amount of magical energy coming from behind them. Who in the hell could it have been?

"So you two thought you could slip past me did ya?" said the female.

"N-No mam..." he grunted as her grip got even tighter.

"We didn't know you were following us, honestly." whimpered Mia as she tried to keep her cool.

"Hmph, well let me tell you something worms, no one is late for my class got it? If anyone is late they will be spending the day in the pit, if any of you talk back to me you will be spending the day in the pit, and if you plan on taking me down while here you're dead. Do you all comprehend what I am saying?!" she exclaimed to every single one of her students.

"Yes mam!" everyone replied loud and proudly.

"Good on ya, now you two get in there!" she said as she let their skulls go before pushing them into the crowd.

How could someone be so high strung like her? All they had been was late, it wasn't as if they had tried to skip her class. Her eyes burned with both passion and fury as they both massaged their skulls. Gods, she sure had a strong grip though. He knew she was a high class but damn, that magical energy she gave off almost made them submit to her in more ways than one. Once she looked over her list of students and identified every single one of them the paper vanished as she stood tall and in charge in front of them.

"Alright worms listen up! My name is Sue Wilzan, you may not address me as Sue or Wilzan or any other crazy name you come up with for me, you will address me as Ms. Wilzan and nothing more. Failure is not an option here ladies, I expect a hundred-ten percent out of all of you. Do not slack, do not cry, do not fall and we will get along just fine. Today in pairs of two you will each step into the field and show off every bit of your power. The first one to subdue their opponent will be declared the victor. Starting with you two."

"Wait I have to fight her? Um, I can't really do that Ms. Wilzer you see we're friends and it would feel right to beat...up on...her?"

But once he saw those eyes narrow in on him he closed his trap before he got them both into even more trouble. Fighting her though, could he really do it? Just from looking at her she didn't exactly look like a fighter. Oh how he hated his situation but maybe the gods would be in his favor and send down a meteor shower to call off class. Once he stepped over the stone border though he noticed something rather strange.

"Where's the armor and the practice weapons?"

"Armor? Wooden weapons? Only chumps use that crap. In battle your opponent wont have a flimsy sword and armor wont count for shit once their blade pierces your armor. Get out of here with that crap." she said.

"But what if one of us gets badly injured?" asked Mia.

"Don't worry worms we have our own nurse out here that will heal you right up, but be sure to return in one piece." she said with a chuckle.

With a stomp of her foot rock spires began rising from the ground all around them as they stepped out into the center of the field. Neither of them wanted to do it but if they even tried to run their punishment would have been even more brutal. Once he glanced over at her he just let out a sigh as he grabbed his weapon's handle as the blade itself shot out.

"Is this bitch crazy?!" he yelled inside his mind as he stood there.

Pitting too friends against each other? That was just cruel. When he looked back up at her though he noticed that she hadn't taken out her own weapon. Actually he couldn't even remember if she had a weapon with her or if she had even told him about it. With his grip on his blade tightened he stood there awaiting for everything to begin.

"Alright, let's get it on! You may begin!" she yelled out out to them just before she blew her whistle.

"Alright, maybe I should hit her with the blunt side. Yeah, that will work." he thought to himself before he raised his head back up.

That's when things got interesting. As he raised his head he couldn't see her. As the wind began to pick up he began looking around all the while he readied his blade for anything. That's when it hit him, literally. From behind him he felt something solid and made of metal hit his back before he was sent flying forward. All he heard was a giggle before he was knocked back into the air only to be hit once again by the metal object.

"Ugh gods, what in the living hell?" he asked as he stumbled to his feet.

Yep his back had been injured but not too badly, he could still fight. When he looked back up though he saw something he hadn't expected. Standing across from him was Mia who held in her right hand a large buster blade dressed in a gold outline and circular holes that ran down the center.

"Heheheh wasn't that fun?" she asked.

"What's your definition of fun again?" he replied as he tried to regain his composure.

It was all just a small distraction though as he let loose a fire storm from his hand. Suddenly the wind began to twist and turn around the flames as she moved towards him with sword in hand. He wasn't without his own defense though as he blocked her swipes with his own blade. Though it was a bit tough to hold her sword back it wasn't impossible, but as they fought he saw what looked like joy in her eyes.

"Are you enjoying this?"he whispered as pushed her back.

Once pushed back she opened up her free hand and let loose a large blast of wind which he followed up by raising a flame barrier that blocked it before he attempted to blast her again. Once more she dodged out of the way and locked swords with him once more.

"Please don't think I'm doing this to be mean, I just like fighting." he replied as she gave him a wink.

Before he could reply though she vanished into thin air. If she spoke the truth then he saw no problem with going all out. Using his sense of hearing he waited until he heard exactly what he thought he had heard last time. With a single jump he avoided her next attack which came from behind and lower towards his legs.

"The whistling, I got you now Mia." she heard.

With a single swing of his blade he finally managed to get a hit on her as she was sent skidding across the ground. He knew now how to beat her, the wind may have been her ally but it was also his advantage. As she jumped back to her feet they locked eyes not as enemies but as opponents. From then on they were determined to give it all they had.


	6. Chapter 6 Within the Self

Chapter 6

Within the Self

As the fight continued the suns heat began to take effect on the rest of the class. He was the lucky one, even if the wind hurt at least he got a good wave of it to cancel out the heat. Yes it was indeed one of those days but as for their instructor she seemed much more interested in the fight than in the heat even with that sweater on. In fact just by watching her it came to their attention that she may have been enjoying it a bit too much.

"Oh yeah, keep fighting worms. Let me see that passion explode!" she cried out as she ran her hands over her own body.

Either she was getting too hot or she was really getting off on watching them fight. To the girls in the group it was quite uncomfortable but for the guys it was almost enough to drive them wild. Even if she was crazy they could only watch as those dainty hands ran over that slim figure before they ran through that short blonde hair of hers. Oh yes if she hadn't been their instructor, fifteen years older, and had the strength to break their skulls and their legs at the same time they would have totally tried to have a go at her.

"Oh yes, mmm just keep fighting..."

The moment disappeared however when a familiar voice came up from behind.

"Alex, what in the hell are you doing here?" she asked as she placed her hands by her side.

"Oh just out getting some fresh air but I see you were having a bit of fun there huh? Getting a bit excited from it all?" he teased as he nudged her side.

"Shush, do you want to embarrass me in front of my students?"

"Heh calm down I know it's your thing and all but too little too late. You've already done it to yourself." he said as he pointed his thumb back at the crowd.

Once she turned around and saw the boys staring at her with that look in their eyes her face lit up like a light bulb. How embarrassing, had she really being doing all that while also unaware of her own class. Well cracking her knuckles seemed to have worked once she faced them with the look of a monster on her face. After that everything died down while Alex turned to watch the fight.

"So what are you doing out here again? Did you want to show off in front of the girls again like you did last year?"

"Hey sh! I was only itching for a fight that day."

"Sure and I guess that shirt of yours was itching to fall off as well right?" she replied with a smirk.

At any rate he just ignored her for the time being as he focused on the fight. Watching the two fight reminded him of the times when he and his own sister use to duke it out in the backyard of their estate. She was tough but he always had the element of surprise as well as the bolt of lightning on his side. They were good times for him but after he became the dean of the academy he didn't really have any chance to fight with his sister again. Still just watching the next generation evolve was enough for him.

"Huh, that boy sure has some anger in there to be throwing pyro spells like that." he said.

"Yeah, I take it he's been a nobody his entire life so now he wants to prove how strong he is. I can respect that though."

"You, respect?"

"Hey I can be decent when I want to be."

"Yeah right." he replied as he rolled his eyes.

As his eyes focused in on Malik though he began to feel a little strange. It may have been just the wind blowing everywhere but there was something about him that just didn't click. If he was going to find out he was going to need to take a peek inside his body and look at his soul center, the place in the body where a persons magical information is stored and released upon command.

"Crux." he whispered.

Everything went a light blue while his small black spikes began to surround his pupils. Once his eyes turned purple his vision closed in on the young mage as he moved around on the field. The image of all the students passed by before his vision darted straight into the center of his being.

"Alright show me what you're hiding..." he thought to himself.

Looking at the glowing sphere inside of his soul it seemed normal enough, at least at first it had. Once he blinked though he saw what looked like a small black flame right in the center. It flickered but only for a second before something forced him out. What was that? Out of all the people he had used it on he had yet to see a student with that kind of element inside of them.

"Is everything alright?" asked Sue while she watched him catch his breath.

"Yeah I'm alright. It's nothing." he said.

Meanwhile back inside the field both Malik and Mia where fighting their hearts out in front of everywhere. Both had sustained a few cuts from each others blades but even so they were still full of energy and ready for another round. As blood dripped from her arm she looked back up and saw that he hadn't even taken a breather the entire time.

"Heh no wonder I like you you fighter." she thought to herself.

With a clear opening he swung his blade as waves of fire began to fly towards her. It was nothing though once she raised her blade in front of her to block them. Once the attacked passed however she lowered her sword only to find him right behind it. With his right hand balled up he threw a good flaming punch that knocked her back and even managed to graze her chin a bit. Though that didn't stop her once she regained her balance. Using her wind sprint she disappeared into the wind just as she had before but instead of heading right for him she decided to play with him a bit.

Once she vanished into thin air he prepared himself as he listened for the whistling wind just as he had before. It was different though, instead of coming from one direction the high pitched whistling began coming from three directions at once, from his left, right, and behind him. Well if she was going to play like that then so was he, once he held out his sword the blade eruted into flames just as he turned his body and swung as hard as he could until he did a complete 360. There was no way she could have withstood his flames, but from out of nowhere his head began to pound. Had he pushed himself too far?

"What's going on?" he asked as the ache began to subside.

While he had been distracted though it gave Mia enough time to finish him off. Once she blasted him with another shot of wind be tried to guard with his own flaming barrier, but instead it shot right though. So it had happened after all, he had used too much magic and due to that his attacks were getting weaker. As soon as he was knocked back she sliced and diced him for a bit before the blade of her weapon pierced the ground. For her finishing move she only needed her two feet as he jumped up and nailed him right in the chest. With his body covered in his own blood and his muscles aching all he could do was lay there as he looked up at the sky above.

"Heh well I tried my best. Guess I'll have to try harder next time." he said as he relaxed his body.

If there had been one thing his uncle had taught him it was to never grovel in defeat, if he lost then he lost. He would get stronger no matter what and next time he fought someone he would beat them. As the wind began blowing over his body he saw a shadow fall over him as Mia offered him a hand.

"Sorry about that, I guess I got a little too wild huh?" she asked as he took her hand.

"You could say that but I guess I deserved it for being reckless out there." he replied as he let out a little chuckle.

As he watched them walk back across the field Max could hear his old friend clapping a bit as they watched the two friends help each other to the nurse. They both had fought a good fight but there were many more challenges ahead for them, but if they kept training and fighting they knew they would be alright.


	7. Chapter 7 Battle of the Class

Chapter 7

Battle of the Class

Well after that lovely class it was time for them to move on to their next subject. According to their schedules next was Potions 230 followed by Magical History 101 then finally Myths and Monsters. Yeah as it stood the course list for beginners wasn't exactly the longest, in fact there were only about six courses all of which were basic. Oh well, if he had to take a potions class then there was nothing he could do about it, on the plus side he had heard from one of his neighboring town folk back home that the guy was pretty entertaining and that his classes weren't like any others. Judging by their P.T class he wouldn't have been surprised.

"Are you feeling alright? I didn't hurt you too bad did I?" asked Mia as they walked down the hall of the West Front Building.

"Nah I'm alright, trust me I've taken a lot more than that. Although you could have let up on the blade a bit. I thought you were really going to cut my head off for a second." he replied.

"Heh yeah sorry, when it comes to sword fighting me and my family can get a little wild. Speaking of family are your parents coming for Parents Day tomorrow?"

"Not really, my mom and dad are pretty busy but my Uncle David said he would be come by. No big deal."

"What does he do?"

"He's one of the captains of Defense Force 3. He's also kind of, hows the best way to put it? Oh right, weird, strange, loud at times. He did train me though when my own father couldn't so I do owe him for doing that."

Just from hearing about his uncle it sounded as if both he and her father would have gotten along pretty well if they had known each other. Still if the burn marks and the scars that covered his body told her anything it was that he was damn strong and that he never held back even against his own family. It was kind of sad, she had been trained in the art of the sword by her own father when he had the chance and when it came to magic she was a natural as long as it was the element of wind.

According to their schedules their class was in room 143, right on the first floor. The hallways seemed a bit barren for the first day of classes but then again some people may have decided to skip just to have an extra day. It was a common practice for some students to skip their first day but on the flip side doing so would give their teachers a bad first impressions.

"So, where did you get that sword of yours? I didn't see you carrying it around with you. Does it have a miniature gen in it?"

"Miniature gem? I can't say it does but if you're really curious here's your answer." she replied as she pulled back the large sleeve of her outfit.

Dangling around her wrist was what looked like some kind of thin bracelet and attached to the underside was a tiny sword gem. To him it was alien but to her it was quite normal. What kind of magic did it posses he wondered.

"Do you rip it off and it changes?"

"Not quite, I hold it in my hand and funnel my magic into it and presto we have a full fledged sword. Pretty neat huh?"

"Yeah, it sound really convenient too." he replied just as they arrived at the entrance.

Something wasn't right though, it smelled kind of...funky. Of course it was a potions class though and most potions did have a rather strong smell to them and some had a down right terrible scent to them. Well they only had about two minutes till class began so there was no point in putting it off. With their breaths held they turned the knob and opened the door only to get an even bigger surprise.

Animals were everywhere, from the common snakes to the vicious little flame pixies that swarmed the forests from time to time. That wasn't all though, skulls from dead creatures such as an alligator, bear, baby dragon, and many other animal heads lined the walls. The room also seemed a bit darker than most but it was still pretty well lit. Everything seemed normal though until he looked across the room at one of the boys sitting at a table. It didn't take them long to get noticed.

"Hey buddy, how are you doing?!" he asked in a sarcastic tone.

Great it was Segura, how had he ended up with him in the same class? Wait, how could he have been in the same class if he was a third year? Normally third years took more advanced courses so how could his ass have been in there?

"What are you doing here? Aren't you suppose to be else where messing with someone else?" he said as they took a seat at the nearest desk across from him.

"Now why would I do that? I need to finish up this course if I want to graduate." he stated with a big smirk on his face.

At that point he didn't care as long as he stayed away he didn't have a problem with it. Just as long as he stayed his distance then he was fine. Still something seemed a bit odd about the formation of the tables. Instead of being in rows like most they were in the formation of a large oval with a wide open area in the middle. Perhaps it was just the way their teacher wanted them all but then again they would all be facing away from him instead. As the last few students took their seat and everyone gathered around oval a loud insane laugh began to echo as a patch of white smoke began to form near the front of the room.

"Welcome my students to Potions 230! I hope you are prepared for the upcoming year or else you'll be left in the dust!"

From out of nowhere the cloud exploded as the instructor's desk turned to tiny wood chips. From the smoke stepped a man that wore a long white lab coat and had on a small pair of goggle around his forehead. Just from looking at him they could tell he wasn't like any other teacher. That cooky grin he had spread across his face never faded as he cleared his throat.

"Now then let's get stated. My name is Professor Chrion Alabert, but you may call me Professor Alabert or Chrion. Don't think of me as just you're teacher but also as your friend."

"Yeah a creepy friend." he heard in the crowd.

Malik and Mia weren't the only ones who jumped when he fired off a lightning bolt at the disrespectful student. As soon as it hit him the classroom lit up until the light faded as the boy fell backwards in his chair while his skin smoked.

"Now then sorry for that interruption, but disrespect will not be tolerated in this class. Let's forget about that though and concentrate on today's task. You may have already experienced it during your first class but throughout today each one of your teachers will test you on the knowledge you hold about that certain subject. In here however it's a bit different." he told them as he snapped his fingers.

Suddenly blue screens began popping up in front of everyone, one by one the large blue screens appeared until the last person got there's. Was this some kind of magic? It seemed to be in some way but Malik had never heard of such a spell.

"This is no ordinary classroom this is a classroom...of battle! Whoever you are sitting next to you is your partner, they may help you if you get stuck or if you are unable to figure it out they may step in and solve it for you. The two sitting across from you are your opponents. You will each receive the same question and when called on one team member may try and solve it. If you spot something wrong with your opponents method you may battle it. Simply solve it yourself and throw the screen to the center of the circle opening and whosoever correct will be rewarded points, those who fail will have their screen destroyed and will lose points. Did you get all of that? I hope so because your first test starts now!"

"Pst, did you get all of that?" whispered Mia.

"Yeah, don't worry if you mess up I'll come to your aid." he replied.

Once he snapped his fingers again some text as well as a picture of a flask along with several items that surrounded it. The question asked them to create a toxin potion, one that would destroy the toxin of a colymog. What was interesting though was that they weren't taking turns in giving out their answers instead once someone had their answer they simply flung the screen out into the center and whoever got the highest percent won. As it stood though Mia had no clue what she was doing while Segura solved away at the question. What was worse for her was that only the opposing teams had the same questions, everyone the rest were different.

"Need some help?" he offered as he stood beside her.

"No, no I got it."

Just from looking at her he could tell she had no clue what she was doing. Her hands were sweating as she tried to pull the objects over to the flack in order to dump them in, but without knowing the answer she couldn't do it. While she struggled though he began to solve the little puzzle inside his own mind. He wasn't use to poison potions but he had to at least try if they were going to survive.

"A colymog, tricky but it might just work." he said to himself.

"Hey what's taking ya? Planning on throwing out your answer soon?" Segura teased as he finished up his potion.

When he looked over at his enemy that's when it hit him. With a slam of his hands onto the desk he looked forward with with eyes of lit passion.

"Hold it! You've made one fatal mistake bro!" he said as he pulled the screen away from his friend.

Quickly he began moving the necessary ingredients into the glass flask as it started to fill up. He may have looked calm and collected but the truth was he was scared. If he messed up then that would mean deducted points for them both and he didn't want to do that to her, but if he didn't try then their professor would look at them as slackers.

"You've gotta be joking. The potion is perfect. I've stopped the spread of the toxins and destroyed it." he replied.

"Nope, you only stopped the toxins for a short while, but you're missing the most important element. The blood of a Foxentine. It destroys any foreign chemicals inside the body including the poison of a colymog."

As he moved everything that was needed into the flask Chrion continued to watch as well as Mia. How could she have not known that she wondered as he moved the final ingredient into the glass container.

"Oh ho now let's see how this turns out! Let it rain boys!" exclaimed Chrion.

"Take this!" called out Malik as the both knocked their screens towards each other.

This was it, as the percents were totals the two dueling screens continued to spin around until they collided with each other. Who had gotten it right? At first it seemed to had been a draw but a few seconds later Segura's screen began to crack while his own floated before him in perfect condition. At the top right hand corner of his screen it read ninety five percent while at the top of his opponents it read only ninety percent, they knew what that meant. In less than a second his opponents screen shattered into hundreds of little pieces while his own returned to their table.

"But how, I thought I had it." Segura asked himself.

"You only overlooked one part of the recipe, just remember to think through it next time. Also what's that now? Two to zero?"

If there was one thing he hated it was being shown up by a underclassman, but he couldn't deny that he had a point. If he had looked over his options more then he could of probably beat him. Still next time he was determined to defeat him whether it was in battle on campus or in the classroom.

"Good job both of you, Malik you really showed your passion today and Segura, while you may not have won this time remember that there will be more chances. Hoogara! Now then let's get busy!"

Later that day

Everything seemed rather normal after their first two classes, their history class went off without a hitch and while he may not have known much about the different types of monsters in the world he knew enough to know that his last class wasn't going to be a pain. As a whole though his teachers seemed pretty unique in their own ways but Sue still scared them both the most. Yeah the year was looking pretty sweet for them.

After their final class of the day both decided to just head on in and start on their little homework assignment that their history teacher had given them. It wasn't much, only about ten questions. They were pretty basic too with most of them dealing with certain events that revolved around the mighty Titans.

"Hm, hey what's the name of the sun titan?" he asked.

"I think it was Cryron." she answered.

"Right, well that about wraps it up for me. Do you need any help?"

"I'm alright."

Like hell she was, looking at her face he could tell she was bummed about something.

"What's wrong? You seem a bit down tonight?"

"Huh? Oh it's nothing, nothing at all."

"Really, is this about what happened in potions class today?"

In the situation she was in she could have lied, but then he would have just continued to ask her. If he wanted to know then she was going to tell him.

"It's just when it comes to my education my parents always want what's best for me and I told them I would put a hundred-ten percent into each class. How can I do that if I can't make a stupid antidote?"

"Really, that's all? Look potions may not be your strong suit but that doesn't mean you can't improve. In fact tomorrow after our parents leave I'll go pick up the latest potions book and show you how it's done."

"Really, you'll help me?"

"Sure, I have enough money to last for the whole year and books on potions aren't but twenty dollars each. We'll just pick up the Basic edition and we should be good to go."

Out of all the people she could have befriended on her first day he was the first one. Over the course of only two days he had shown her nothing but kindness even if she was one of the wealthy. It kind of made her wonder what her parents would think of him the next day.


	8. Chapter 8 Meet the Parents

Chapter 8

Meet the Parents

Darkness, fire, the cries of agony, that's all he could hear and see as he opened his eyes. A battlefield is where he stood as he was transported to field of war. The cries of those who fought echoed throughout his mind as he moved closer towards the cries. The fire almost felt real as he made his way through it to reach his destination. Why was he doing it? He had no clue but something was pulling him in as if it was calling to him. As the smoke began to clear two figure were seen on the ground as the the older male began speaking.

"I couldn't keep her safe. Our future, our new life, how could this happen?" he said as the smoke cleared.

Kneeling before him was a man dressed in a black and red cloak as chains wrapped around his chest. In his arms though he held a woman who's hair shined like the light of the world, but that light was fading. The whiteness of her eyes began to fade as blood ran down her body from the wound in her chest. It all seemed so familiar to him yet he just couldn't put his finger on it. As he thought though he heard a loud roar come up from behind him.

"What is that...? he asked himself as he took a step back.

A being of mere muscle and bone began approaching them as he fell to his butt. It wasn't real was it? As he scooted back the earth began to shake under the weight of its voice.

"What will you do now? You're only love is dead and your world is about to perish along with her. Don't you see? This balance of yours is nothing more than a thread and once cut it's all over for you." the creature asked the man in black.

All he did was chuckle though as he laid the woman down on the ground.

"Not yet, I've got far too much to do but if it means I must disappear for a while then so be it. I have collected many friends in my life and now they fight to protect the world. I can't let you take them away..." he groaned as he wiped some of the blood from his shoulder wound.

"Oh what, are you going seal me away again? No seal can hold me!"

All he did was make a small mark in the dirt with his blood before he took the woman and laid her across it.

"Now I shall free us. Souls, my friends, children of the earth, absolve me!"

From beneath his love the blood mark began to glow as she began to fade away but not without looking at him one last time. Just from looking at him he could see that this man wasn't just an ordinary mage. His eyes glowed a intense red as his hands turned to claws. The ground began to rumble as a hole began to open up under the creature.

"Wait what are you doing?! The blood pact, you're really going to sacrifice yourself to save these insects?!"

"Yeah dying does suck but don't worry I'll be back." he said as his own body began to fade away.

Just before he vanished completely he gave a single salute to the creature before his body burst into black flames. As the world began to dissolve around him all he heard was the sound of the monster's cries as he was dragged down to his fate.

It all had seemed so real, but when his eyes opened once again he saw that it had all been just a dream. The sun was out and the clock beside his bed read nine thirty in the morning. Thanks to Sue and Chrion taking their classes off to work on the after school activities for the parents and their children as well as some of the other teachers he had the opportunity to sleep in late and boy did he take it. Once he hopped out of bed he saw that Mia had left, probably to meet her parents. Once he jumped into the shower for ten minutes and slipped into some fresh clothes he was all set. With only two classes the day was going to be short but sweet.

With his books packed up and his supplies packed up he headed out the door with his trusty weapon in his pocket. The dorms seemed much quieter than they had been but perhaps that was because everyone was meeting up with their own parents. It sucked that his own parents couldn't make it but at least his uncle promised to come, that was something right? Something seemed off that day though, like he had a strange feeling but he just couldn't put his finger on it. Could his dream have been the cause? It had seemed rather strange how it felt so real to him. If anything he had to be on his guard just in case.

Once he opened the doors of the building the warmth of the suns rays flowed over him as he stepped out. By the look of it all parents had already started to arrive while others were waiting patiently for them.

"She told me to meet her by the entrance right? Yeah, guess I better get a move on then." he thought to himself as he began running down the marble road.

As he made his way towards his destination thoughts began to run through his head as to how her parents acted. Were they good looking and sophisticated or were they just like any ordinary people? His only fear what that they they were cruel and mean like the wealthy back home, but if they raised Mia to be the way she was they couldn't have been that bad right? As parents continued to pour in more and more vehicles began to fill the outside of the boarder as the guards let them all in.

"Heyo, what's up?" he asked as he stopped right beside her.

"Hm? Oh just waiting for my parents. They should have been here by now though. Do you have the time?"

"Yeah it's almost ten."

Just from looking at her face he could tell that she had a mixture of both frustration and anger welling up inside of her. It was understandable though, classes were about to start and she had no clue where her parents were. Still if they didn't hurry they both would be tardy and knowing Mr. Rocmel hey would get the paddle.

"Why don't you go onto class, I'll stay out here and wait for them. Besides I've got to wait for my uncle too."

"But then how would you know what they look like?"

"Hm, good point. I could always grab a market and a thrown out cardboard box and make a sign with one of the lids. It would be like being in the riots except with less pain... and fire."

"Heheh thanks but I think it's best if I wait up for them. I can't let you confront Rocmel alone if you're late can I?"

"It would be kind of mean but I've taken worse beating."

Time seemed to have slowed down a bit as they stood there though but just as time carried on so did they. With a sigh she turned as they both began walking back down the roadway and towards the main building when they heard what sounded like a loud motor approaching the school. The field had been filled to the max with other vehicles but down from the west came two more who seemed rather peddle happy. Their vehicles increased in speed as they heard a loud yell come from the yellow card.

"Yeah eat my dust!" they heard as they took a peak around the corner.

"Oh gods..." she groaned while her hands covered her face.

"What's wrong?"

Everything was wrong, not only were the two vehicles driving recklessly but both began swerving back and forth between the other parents cars. From right to left from right to left they turned until both came a screeching halt at the entrance of the academy. They both seemed have made it ok through the rows of cars but what kind of mad man would have driven like that?

"Please don't look." she begged.

Too little too late, by the time she said that the doors of the car opened as not one but two people stepped out. A man that had dressed in a rather spiffy jacket and pants and a woman that was only dressed in a simple work jacket and skirt.

"Oh there's my little girl. All spruced up just for your parents huh?"

"Little girl?" he thought to himself as be backed up a bit.

So if she was their little girl that meant that they were her parents. Holy crap she looked nothing like them. She didn't have her dad's blonde hair or her mothers purple eyes. She did however have her mothers black hair but where the red that outlined her hair came from was anyone's guess.

"Dad...how many times have I told you not to do this!" he heard her yell before that fist of hers landed right on top of his skull.

"Now sweetie that's no way to treat your father, unless I say so." her mother said before she did the exact same thing.

Yep, they sure were the strange bunch but as he watched them both give her father a nice knot on his noggin he froze when those crystal blue eyes narrowed in on him.

"Oh ho, I see you've made a new friend already. Care to tell us your name?" he asked him.

Something he hadn't noticed as he looked her father in the eyes was that his ears were not rounded like his own instead they came to a point. So her father was an elf? Well that was pretty strange, normally elves only married within their own race, things could of changed though after all he wasn't one. Just when he was about to speak up though he heard a familiar voice come from the entrance.

"Malik my boy, how have ya been?" the man asked.

"Uncle, that was you?" he replied with in confusion.

"That's right, I had just finished up my custom made racer and I just had to take it out fro a spin." said David as he took his hat off.

Wow, she had not expected his uncle to look like that. From his description she took him as one that tried to dress nicely every day but instead he wore just normal old casual clothes. His jet black hair was still rather nice though and it had been trimmed into a neat crew cut. His white undershirt was a bit loose but it still fit over his body as well as that buttoned up blue shirt.

"You do know that mother doesn't like you doing stuff like that out in public right?"

"Hah you really think I'm afraid of my own sister? Boy if I had listened to her you wouldn't be here right now. Speaking of which, that's a pretty sweet ride man. Did you build it yourself?" David asked.

"Sure did, custom built with a M4 core running it all."

"M4? How did you get that much magic in there? I can only get mine up to an M3."

"Oh it's simple really all you have to do is..."

And just when they were starting to get along Mia decided to break it up for the time being.

"Excuse me dad but we kind of have to get going if we're going to make it to class."

"Oh right sorry. Oh yeah I forgot to tell you, I brought you a little gift. Come on out!"

A little gift? What kind could it have been she wondered. She got her answer though when the back seat car door opened. A boy that looked about two years older than them as he sported a tux of some sort.

"Dad..."

"What, he said he wanted to see you so I brought him along. Isn't that right Arko?"

"Indeed, I've wanted to see my girl ever since you began preparing for your trip here. I've long for you ever since I saw that ship take you away."

She had no words to express just how pissed off she was. He was one of the main reasons she decided to apply for the academy, so she could get away from him!

"Well I don't so you can go on back home. I'll find my own husband and I don't need my mother and father to help me with that." she hissed before she began walking away.

It wasn't that she wasn't happy to see her mother and father but she definitely didn't want them getting in the way of her love life. She had told them numerous time that she was waiting for that special someone before she decided to marry, no sooner than that.

"Malik was it? Was she this grumpy earlier?" asked her father.

"Not really."

With that they all began heading towards the main building though something sent a chill up Malik's spine as he walked side by side with his uncle. The eyes of Arko were glued to him as if he was waiting for him to make a move.


	9. Chapter 9 Short Day

Chapter 9

Short Day

As the sound of Mr. Dialis's voice echoed through his mind time seemed to had slowed down significantly. What he thought would have been a relatively short class had begun to feel like an eternity. Even though their instructor's voice was rather lively the information they had been going over for ninety percent of the class period he wasn't too familiar with. The titans of their world, why couldn't it have been about the ocean or some other battle?

"Mr. Sinder, your answer if you would." he heard just as he had begun to drift away.

"Hm what?"

"Who were the two titans that they called the Changing Elements? Come on kid you've got to pay attention." said Dialis.

Oh boy even more questions on the titans he...didn't have a damn clue. During his studies he always looked over battles that dealt with the normal people.

"I...don't know." he replied in a exhausted groan.

"Sinder you can't be slacking, this will all be on your final exam at the end of the year so start paying attention or else you may be seeing me again next year."

Just from listening to his fellow students he could hear them all laughing as quietly as they could, but that wasn't what annoyed him. He didn't even have to look back to know that Arko was laughing at him as well. Just when things began looking bad though Mia came to the rescue.

"The Changing Elements refer to the romance between the Titan of the Underworld Sephalor also known as the Demon Lord and the Titan of Light Rei also known as the Goddess of Light. For centuries it was thought impossible for both to come together as one in a relationship that could of changed the world, but it was all lost when they forfeited their lives in the Great Titan War to save our world from endless pain."

"Excellent job Ms. Kaizoku."

Once she sat back down she looked over at him and just winked, just a simple wink to tell him to was alright and boy was she right. Everything seemed to had gone a lot better afterward as the clock began to run down. Even if he wasn't too knowledgeable on the titans he still knew a good few things about certain events on ancient and more recent history, it was really the only thing in the class he was good at. Once that bell rang though it was time for them to head to their final class, Myths and Monsters.

"What was up with you in there hm? Didn't you have the answer in the answer in that big brain of yours?" asked Arko as he pushed him aside.

"Cut it out, if he didn't know it then he didn't know it. It's not like you know every titan there is." she replied as she pushed him to the back with their parents.

"Alright your two settle down." her father said as he caught Arko before he could fall.

"Gerald right." followed David.

"Yeah alright. Oh by the way Riko the titan of the sun, Rosalina the titan of nature, Tika the titan of the oceans, and Brawly the titan of the earth. Any questions?" said Arko as he hovered behind them.

Alright with that his nerves were slowly starting to unwind as they entered their final class. What was with him? Ever since they met all he had been doing was staring at him with either hate, jealousy or smugness. He was willing to give him a try at being his friend but it looked like that wasn't going to happen.

"Don't let him get you down. I know he can be a jerk but just ignore him and he'll go away." she said as they both took their seats at the back of the classroom.

"Maybe but if he ticks me off again he's roasted. I will come for a taste."

"Yeah, I don't even think wolves would want to eat him."

As they sat there just talking their little friend's body began to fill up with anger. How could she choose such a weak looking peasant over him? He had the brains, the brawn, and the money so what was keeping her from falling for him? Well if he wanted to play then he was going to play as well. No one defeated Arko and no one stole his girl.

Once class started everything began to settle down at least until their instructor brought out a large cage. At first everything thought it might have been some kind of feline or a canine, but nope. Instead what they got was a flying beast of not death but annoyance. It looked similar to a normal eagle but instead of just one head it had three separate noggins each with only one eyeball for each head.

"A Scavo, quite rare isn't it?" asked David.

"Yep, costs around two hundred gold pieces to get one. Although I heard they can be quite the gentle creature."

"Yeah quite rare and annoying." his wife replied as she tried to say back as far as she could from that thing.

"What's with her?"

"Who Linda? Oh she's just a bit nervous. She's never seen one up close like this so watch out." he replied back as he gave his wife a nudge forward.

"Hey quit you, you play too much." she growled as she straightened her hair.

As much as it may had been interesting to them most of the other students seemed rather frightened by the bird but to Malik and Mia it was nothing more than a wild creature. While they hadn't ever seen one in the flesh, or feathers, it didn't look any more terrifying than some of the beasts he had encountered in the woods next to his house, now those things would make them piss their pants.

"Excuse me Ms. Petunia but are you allowed to have that in here?" asked one of their fellow students.

"Am I indeed, trust me kids this little guy wouldn't hurt you unless you hurt him!"

Suddenly with a thrust of her arm the beast took off through the air as everyone else ducked for their lives but not Malik and Mia, no they were busy eating sunflower seeds.

"I wouldn't make any sudden movements towards him if he strikes it could be fatal. Avoid the teeth!"

Oh how she loved seeing them panic like that. She knew the thing was deadly if disturbed but long ago she had its toxins drained from its body so if it bit that's all that would happen. Yeah it may have been a bit mean to lie to them but just seeing them duck like that was just so cute to her.

"Huh, your Malik doesn't seemed to phased by this thing flying around. Has he been around these things before?" asked Gerald.

"Oh let's just say that I might have thrown a few curve balls when training him up."

"That's kind of cruel don't you think?" asked Linda.

"Nah, it's just as my father told me and my siblings. If we wanted to get stronger out limits had to be pushed to their absolute end. Oh don't worry though I never let him get too injured ."

While they were chatting it up though Arko continued to observe his target. What was with him? Everyone else had ducked for their lives because of that damn bird but there he was just sitting there as if nothing had happened. It didn't take long though for a window to open up as the three headed bird took a seat Malik's spiky brown hair.

"Hey um Malik you got something in your..." Mia said as she tried to not disturb the bird.

Instead of responding though he simply shushed her for just a second as he pulled out his small back of sunflower seeds. If there was one thing he knew about all birds they loved the taste of fresh sunflower seeds. He tried not to move his head to much in fear that the beast would either peck his eyes out, bite him, or claw of his scalp.

"Mr. Sinder you know I don't allow food in my classroom."

His mind was on other matters though as he poured what was left into his right hand. They had only cost him a single bronze coin so it wasn't like he was throwing away much and besides the sooner the beast left his head the sooner his scalp could be saved before it was ripped to pieces by its talons. "Hungry? Here you can have these if you want."

At first it seemed as if it hadn't fazed the creature but then with a flap of its mighty wings it lifted off his head and landed right in front of him. Now some may had thinking that feeding such a creature with his hand was insane, and they were right. Instead he simply sat the pile down on the table and just watched as each head began scooping up their shares. Bit by bit the seeds were swallowed up until they were all gone. Once the final piece had been consumed it was time for the test. Either it would eat his eyes or embrace the petting. With a slow motion he reached out to touch the bird but just as his fingers touched its feathers it simply kicked off the table and flew back to their instructor.

"Not bad, although to be specific their favorite food are pumpkin seeds. Still that was pretty good for a first timer."

To her he may had seemed fearless when it came to calming the beast down but no, his body filled up with fear the moment that thing landed on his head. Nobody was fearless and that went for him as well, but Mia seemed to impressed and so did a few of his other classmates.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

"Yeah, besides the scratches on my head I'll live." he said as he slumped down over the desk.

There was still one person in the room though that still despised him for doing what he did though and after class was over he was going to take back what was his.


	10. Chapter 10 The Sound of Thunder

Chapter 10

The Sound of Thunder

Finally the day had come to a close, once the final bell rang he was up and out of his office so that he could finally sit back and relax for once. No more paper work to deal with, no naughty students to punish, and no cramped hands either. It was just him and his martini as he sat out under the sun. He wasn't alone though for Sue and Chrion were both out working on getting each stand and ride set up. With the time only being One in the afternoon he had the rest of the day to just kick back and rest his body.

"Alex you could get up and help us you know?" asked Sue as she used her power of levitation to place bring the wooden planks over before she melded them together into one single stand.

"Oh but you guys are doing such a fabulous job and I've been in my office all day. You can't rush relaxation my friend. First you have to relax the muscles then..."

She was having none of that as she manipulated the water in the nearest fountain into a large ball of water. How she hated it when he was lazy even if he was her friend he needed to be taught a lesson. Once she cooled the water down with her ice magic she simply let it all loose. Once that freezing water hit his body he was up as the cold liquid turned his skin ice cold.

"You were saying? Do you want me to warm you up?" she asked as she snapped her fingers so a small flame formed at her finger tip.

"Ah alright, just give me a second."

With the power of the wind he dried his shirt and pants off until they were as dry as could be before he turned to the piled of wood and paint. For a A ranked mage he sure got stuck doing such lame tasks, building stands, repairing the school, he was the principle damn it and he deserved better! Oh well the sooner he did it the sooner he could get back to his martini. With a wave of his hand all the piles of wood began swirling around each other as they connected like a puzzle. Bit by bit each plank melded itself to the one closest to it until the remaining twelve stands were all set up, all that was left was the paint.

"You know you could do some actual manual labor." she said to him as she watched.

"Yeah but what's the point when you have magic at your side?" he asked in a cocky tone as he snapped his fingers.

Once the brushes began to work their magic on the wooden structures everything seemed fine. They being painted and Chrion was just finishing up the race track for those who wanted to participate. Yep it was all coming together and with only a few minutes left the day went on as planned. Though something wasn't right, Chrion was being a bit more quiet than usual.

"Hey Chri, what are doing?!" asked Alex as he removed his shades.

"Oh nothing much just putting the final touches here and there!" he replied back.

Just as he had been instructed by Sue he filled certain spots with a special liquid that quickly expanded into what looked like fresh magma until it exploded in each hole.

"Yes at last it's finally here yahahahaha!" he laughed as the fireballs landed all over the field.

"Oh for gods...Chrion!"

Yep everything seemed fairly normal at least until they heard what sounded like yelling heading there way. It was hard to tell at first what exactly it was, it kind of looked like two monkeys fighting but upon a closer glance they saw that they weren't animals but instead two people and they looked pissed. If that wasn't enough when Sue turned to check it out she recognized one of them.

"Sinder?"

"Oh ho it's porcupine head." said Chrion as he adjusted his collar.

Not only was it him but someone else was running next to him, a boy with long black hair. He didn't look like any one of her students so who was he? Well whoever he was they were about to disturb the festival. With people already pouring in to relax she couldn't have them both disturbing their peace so once her legs locked up and she cracked her knuckles she waited for the right time to strike.

"Just a bit closer and...now."

As soon as they passed beside her she grabbed her fingers around their skulls and held them in place before they were lifted up off the ground. Now she had them, if there was one thing she hated it were those who disturbed the peace but thanks to her that wasn't going to happen.

"Oh hoo you caught them. What should we do with them?" asked Chrion as he walked over.

No response came from her as she held the two by their skulls as that grip of hers tightened around them.

"Sinder! What is the meaning of this?!"

"We were...just racing." he groaned as he tried to stay calm.

"Hmph, and who are you? Were you patronizing one of my students?" she asked as she shook Arko.

"It's Arko, Arko Ashin and ah! We were just having a race, you know to see who could get here the fastest?" he struggled to say as she loosened her grip on them.

"A race eh? Well if you wanted to race you could have used the damn track you two." she replied as she released both of them to the ground.

Yep the memory was fresh in his mind of when she first grabbed his cranium after he and Mia were late for class, it sucked hard. As he massaged his temples Malik heard the others approaching.

"Geez, couldn't you two have just quit when you finished your food?" asked Mia as she helped her friend up.

"Eh heh maybe we did go a bit too far."

"A bit too far? This is a test of love! Only the strongest shall survive my wrath!" declared Arko.

Yep he was insane and everyone knew it too as they looked at him in the most odd way. Test of love? Was that what he called it because it felt more like a test to see who was the fastest at everything ever but whatever. He lived in his own little world while both the sane Malik and Mia lived the the real one.

"Sinder! I challenge you to a race on the track, the winner will earn the love of the fair Mia!:"

"Yeah...alright go earn your fair or whatever." he replied.

And with a quick dash Arko was off to prepare for the race. What a strange man, what was his deal? It was clear he liked Mia but what did any of that have to do with him? No, it couldn't have been that he though they were together could it? Well he did think she was really cute and she was his first friend he made at the academy but he didn't have those kind of feelings for her, at least not yet.

"Sinder, I should warn you this isn't just any ordinary race." warned Sue.

"I should have figured that. Alright what's down there? Snakes? Spikes? A three headed dragon?"

"Magma, some spiked balls, arrows, and a man eating plant."

Oh that was some good heart twitching. Yep he was going to die if what she told him was true.

"Sue, don't you think that's a bit excessive? Magma really? I know think yourself invincible but magma kills." whispered Alex.

"Relax the magma and plant are all but illusions. If they fall into the pits they will be teleported back to the starting line."

"Yeah but what about the spiked balls and arrows?"

"That's for them to get around." she replied as she walked off.

Meanwhile kneeling down by the nearest tree while hundreds of parents and students began to pour in their young swordsman was busy with a little something. From what she could tell he was righting something down but what?

"Yoink!"

Using a sneak attack Mia yanked the piece of paper out from his hands but what she saw kind of confused her. Written on the paper was:

_"I may be dead by the time you get this. I own up to any of my mistakes. I may have a secret stash of money hidden somewhere in my room. I have problems. Do not judge me until you've walked in my shoes. To my sister, walk tall."_

_Sincerely;_

_Malik _

"Oh come on you're not going to die." she said as she threw the paper aside.

"Easy for you to say, you're not the one who is at risk of burning or being eaten alive."

"Awe, but you almost beat me. I'm sure you can beat that pervert at anything." she said as she pulled him up.

Just when he was about to speak though something began rocking inside his skull. A painful headache began to rise as he fell to his knees. What was it? It was so sudden and it hurt like hell!

"Are you ok? Do you need a nurse?" she asked.

That's when everything went to hell. A large shadow flew over the field as people tried to get away from the flying object. When it landed though they saw that it wasn't a object at all but in fact one of the giant guards that protected the border around the school only this time he had no head.

"W-What in the hell?" Sue said to herself just as the ground began to shake.

The last thing they heard was a thunderous roar before the beast punched right through the stone barrier. It's eyes were a combination of reds, yellows, and oranges and it never blinked as it looked over the academy.

"What in the actual fuck is that...?" said Alex as he stared into the empty eyes of the creature.


	11. Chapter 11 Reborn

Chapter 11

Reborn

Panic erupted as everyone began running to the underground shelter of the academy. There they would be safe until the situation had been taken care of but the only question was who would confront the beast and send it running home? It looked unlike anything they had ever seen before and it looked neither human or feral but instead something completely different. The essence that flowed through the academy from its body was almost enough to scare anyone away but they knew they had to take it on one way or another.

"Guards, get everyone to the shelter now. Make sure none are left behind!" said Alex.

"What about you sir?" asked the captain.

"I'm going to deal with this. I'm the principle and it's my duty that I protect those who I watch over every day."

"But sir, that thing..."

"Just go, I'll return in one piece I promise." he reassured his men.

They hated to leave their leader without any backup but by oath they were bound to do whatever he said. As the guards gathered everyone up in the surrounding area those who were still in the streets of the school took shelter in whatever building they could find.

"Alright Alex it's time to brush off the cobwebs and get back to work." he said as he reached for his ball point pen.

If he was going to fight he was going to need not a substituted weapon that he use to use to limit his power but instead his own personal weapon. With a single click of the pen his extended into a long staff as two serpents coiled around the silver rob. The paint faded as a sharp point formed at the very end of the staff.

"Yeah you're not thinking about going out there alone are ya?" asked Sue as Chrion joined her.

"Look I need you and the others to watch over the students, in the mean time I'm going to go kick this guys ass."

"Oh yeah and you think you yourself are going to be able to take down that thing? No way we're coming with whether you like it or not." he replied as she grabbed her spiked bat from its holster.

"Yeah and this will give me a chance to test out my new bombs as well." followed Chrion before both jumped onto the nearest roof and began running.

Typical friends, they were by his side all the time but for once he wished they had stayed behind. Oh well they were too far gone for him to stop them so all he could do was join them. While they were on their way into battle though the captain of the guard as well as his fellow men began making a pathway towards the nearest shelter under the dining hall. Everything seemed to had been going smoothly until Mia turned to to her friend only to find he was still in pain.

"Malik come on we have to go!" she yelled as she tried to pull him into last few crowds of people.

"Ugh can't forget...I can't." he groaned while he squeezed his head.

"Forget, forget what?" she asked.

They were soon greeted though by the guards captain as the last few parents walked down into the darkness.

"Come on you two no waiting! Get with the others." he demanded as he grabbed her wrist.

At least help had come for them both, like hell she wanted to be out in the open with that thing on the loose. Once he had her wrist he reached for her friends only to grab air. Strange, he could have sworn the boy had been there just a moment ago. It wasn't until he heard her cry that he turned around towards the academy.

"Malik!" she tried out as she struggled against his grip.

In a normal situation he was authorized to send his men in to get them but according to his boss their only priority was to get those around the festival grounds to safety. Those who were still in the city had to cope until the situation had been dealt with. He was too far gone anyways once he passed through the dust cloud.

"Let me go I have to go get him." she grunted as he tried to drag her off.

"Are you insane? Do you want to die?"

She didn't have time for his crap. With a blast of wind she blew him backwards before she too took off towards the academy. She couldn't quite explain up but ever since they had met she had really started to care about her new friend and like hell she was going to let him get crushed by that thing. Even so she could hope for the best as she too disappeared into the cloud of smoke.

Down near the entrance of the academy however things were not looking so good. For Alex and his comrades fighting the beast wasn't an easy task. With its massive size and immense strength they had to be extremely careful as to where they moved and attacked from. That wasn't all though, whatever it was it had a magical presence much like a normal mage or elf did but it was different in some ways.

"Hah eat this!" Chrion yelled as he threw three more of his bombs at the creature while he laughed like a maniac.

Once they exploded three blades shot out and sliced right through its arms which sent it tumbling down to the ground. It seemed to work as all three landed safety on the top of the nearby library.

"Pretty nice, with injuries like those I doubt he'll be getting up any time soon." said Sue as he threw her club over her shoulder.

"Yeah really, by the way we really need to talk about those bombs of yours when we get finished here." Alex stated to Chrion.

For a second they had all been caught up in their conversation that they hadn't noticed that that thing was chuckling to itself as he pushed itself back up using only its powerful legs. It's shadow washed over the academy once more as it towered above them all.

"Really? I cut off your arms?"

"Hah hah do you really think that such an injury can stop me?" it grunted.

Suddenly two bones shot out of its shoulders as muscle and tissue covered it in only a fraction of a second. Fingers formed as it slammed its fist into the ground. Not only had they grown back but they were stronger and faster as it swiped its hand over them and grabbed their female friend.

"Sue!"

It held no mercy as it squeezed her small body in its hand. She may have been tough but with the amount of pressure that was coming from its hand she couldn't last much longer. Their only hope was to free her as fast as they could.

"Tell me you have more of those bombs." asked Alex.

"Those were my last three..."

So they were out of bombs, it looked as if they were going to have to do it the old fashion way. Once Alex slammed his paws onto the ground the marble below its feet began to buckle and shift as it shattered and began levitating in the air. Once he brought his hands together with his staff the pieces of the ground took the form of two large blades before they were brought down. Surely it's muscles couldn't withstand such force from the attack right? Wrong, instead it simply spun around and grabbed both blades with its single hand.

"Now's your chance." said Chrion as he pulled out his very last bomb.

Using such a thing inside of the academy was dangerous but letting that thing reach the students was even more dangerous. With only a kiss to send it off he threw it high into the sky until it burst into flames. In almost an instant it took the form of a dragon like creature before it lunged right for the beasts chest. Once knocked back Alex took the chance to unleash his own ice powers, with a flick of his wrist a blast of ice imbedded itself into the flesh of his enemy before freezing it solid. He wasn't done though for once it finished freezing he jumped up and jabbed his staff deep into the frozen back until it began to fall apart.

"Well that certainly did a number on it." said Chrion as they watched it cry out in pain.

Yet even with most of its back missing it still had the energy to regenerate as it chuckled to itself. What was it after and why the academy? Was it after him or maybe it was just bloodthirsty. Well whatever it wanted they couldn't let it get any further.

"Enough of this, you're hiding something here mortals! I have no time for you weaklings you will produce your leader!"

That only raised more questions as they saw their friend struggling to stay alive within its grasp. He was the leader, he was the principle, what had they done wrong? They knew the fight wasn't over though as they prepared for its next attack.

"Got anymore bright ideas?"

"Well..."

He had nothing, no matter how many times they damaged it it just continued to grow more and more while also getting stronger. It's mask like face pissed them both off as it simply stared at them like it was trying to bait them into attacking again. Everything was quiet but only for a moment before they heard another voice, one that seemed extremely close. From the corner of their eyes they saw a figure that jumped through the smoke and onto the roof of the building just across from them.

"Mr. Sinder? What's he doing here?"

The look in his eyes, it wasn't the same look he had seen the previous day, he looked more pissed off than he had ever been. His brown eyes were lit with anger and fury as he stood there with no fear in front of the death machine.

"Huh a kid? Well if this is your last resort then I'll have no problem crushing him!"

As it raised its arm though he saw what looked like a demon right in front of its eyes. No fear, no movement, he just stood there as he prepared to squash him.

"You!"

It froze for only a second as everyone in the area listened to what he had to say.

"Forget it."

It had no time for games it still had a job to do.

"You're the reason she's dead! Did you hear what I said?!" he roared as the hand came down.

At first it seemed that the attack had actually worked but it was not to be as Sue saw him flying with black wings made of black fire.

"Oh no you don't!"

With a quick flight around to the back of its neck he drew his sword and with his new found power encased the blade in black flames. His target, the rune on the back of its neck. With a quick thrust of his sword he sliced open its neck and channeled as much power into the wound until the rune shattered. Upon being struck Sue was released as he fell to the ground with Alex there to catch her.

"A mere child injured me?" it thought to itself as it fell to its knees.

He was done yet on no there were still two final hidden runes on its body that he could still see. Was it because of his new found powers that he could see them? Who knew but he knew one thing, Mr. Tall Dark and Sinister was going down. Once his feet hit the ground he charged forward as his wings put some serious force behind him just as he raised his blade to strike the second mark on forehead. This time though he had let his guard down. In his mind he thought the beast would have been too busy suffering from the pain to react but instead just before he reached his mark its large hand curled around him and trapped his small body.

"Little bug, how are you doing this?" it asked as it squeezed his body.

How could he have been so stupid as to drop his guard now he was losing air and fast. Even when he tried to breath he could barely take in any without most flowing back out, but that was the least of his worries. If he didn't escape and fast he would be nothing more but a puddle of blood in its hand but when he tried to cast a spell it burnt out. Without any oxygen he couldn't concentrate.

"Hey asshole up here!" they heard from above.

Obstructed by the sun was a black figure as it came down not on its head but instead on its hands. With a single swing of its blade the figure send out several waves of what looked like wind that whistled through the air. That voice sounded so familiar as he felt the grip on his body loosen just before he was grabbed and pulled back up to another roof.

"Are you ok?" he heard as his vision began to slip back into focus.

Yep she was familiar alright, he would know those boobs anywhere. Though his mind was still a bit fuzzy.

"Mia, what happened and why am I out here?" he asked as she helped him up.

"Moron you ran out here without thinking. You had me worried sick about you know? What were you thinking?"

"I...don't know."

Their reunion didn't last long though as a blast of dark energy tore them apart as the building was split down the middle. When she looked over at him she saw that he had avoided being injured, but her happiness didn't last for long. In a flash a giant hand smashed into him and sent him flying into an already crumbling building. They could only watched as the rest of the stone structure collapsed on top of him without a single yell heard.

"Malik..." she whimpered.

Just when it seemed it was over just as it had before it blew up what remained leaving only large pieces of stone and char everywhere. If he was still alive after all that there was no doubt he had been blown to bits. Alex and the others just stared as one of their students died before their very eyes. Sure they had seen death before but not of someone so young and full of life. Everyone stood motionless as the building burned.

"You're friend I'm afraid is dead. His flesh turned to crispy meat, his heart nothing more than a puddle of blood."

How was she to feel? Sad or angry? The answer became clear as she picked up her sword from the ground. With hollow eyes she turned to the beast who had just killed her friend and gritted her teeth.

"It was you!" she scowled before she began whipping her sword in all directions.

Nothing could stop he as the wind picked up. Nothing could stop the blasts of wind as each wave buried itself deep inside its flesh. All her rage, all her anger, she was going to take it all and fucking kill it with her own two hands of she had to!

"Damn brat!"

Once she swung one more time it grabbed her blade and threw it to the ground but she wasn't about to give up. Whipping the wind around her she punched and kicked in its direction to unleash a fury of blasts that only bruised its body. No matter what she was going to kill that thing. As tears streamed down her face the attacks began to weaken before her guard completely fell as she fell to her knees.

"Wretched brat, maybe I should eat you. Let you endure the pain of being digested whole still alive." it roared just as it began charging up for its next attack.

Something strange began to happen though, from out of nowhere cloud began to gather as the sky turned red. The clouds were no longer white but instead pure black as the winds began to pick up. From up in the sky though they all saw some kind of symbol forming above them, the symbol of a demon.

"What's going on?!" asked Sue as she tried to hang onto Alex while the wind picked up.

"I don't know!"

"I know what this is! It's a storm of destiny!" Chrion yelled to the heavens.

It wasn't no ordinary storm that was for sure. Everyone froze even the beast as a bolt of red lightning came down on the collapsed building only to destroy it even more. Nothing but pieces of rubble remained as the winds began to die down and the symbol vanished from sight while the sky still remained red and black.

"This feeling. It can't be..." it shuttered.

The sounds of low roars and screeches began to fill the air as something shot up from the rubble that was once the snack store. The last thing they heard was a loud roar before their enemy went flying across the ground, leaving a deep skid mark where it had slid. What had caused it to fly back like that? It wasn't Alex, Sue or Chrion and when they looked at Mia she had yet to move from her spot but when they looked up high in the sky they saw it. A creature as black as night with fire that burned in the crevices along its skin. It's pants burned but did not fade as well as its jacket.

"Malik?" said Mia as she looked over the outfit it was wearing.

The air echoed with its mighty roar as it declared the match on.


	12. Chapter 12 The Lord Returns

Chapter 12

The Lord Returned

Skin as black as the night, eyes that glowed like the eternal flames, teeth as sharp as daggers and a roar that could shake the entire world. All of these combined pointed to only one conclusion, the wielder of the black flames had returned. The lord of the damned, the beast from the underworld, one of the protectors of Kri, the Demon Lord had returned. After so long he had returned to the world he had left behind all those years ago. Was it really him though or was it Malik?

As the beast recovered from his attack everyone just looked up as he descended down onto the building where Mia knelt. The fire within his body lit up even more as he approached the young swordsman, his eyes focused only on her. What was she to do? How was she suppose to react? Was it really her friend or could it have been something else entirely? All he did was just look down at her as a smirk spread across his face.

Before he could speak however their monsterous friend stood up as fired off another laser shot With only one shot the rest of the destroyed building began to crumble to pieces.. As soon as he saw the beam headed their way though he scooped her up and jumped off as they headed straight for the next building across from them while Alex and Chrion got their wounded friend to a safe place away from the action. His body was burning hot like she thought it might have been but that was the least of their worries, they were headed straight for a window. Just when she was about to use the wind to blow it open though his wings surrounded her as they both burst through the glass and with such grace landed on his feet without so much of a scratch on his body.

"Are you, ok?" she asked as his wings pulled back before he sat her down on the ground.

They didn't have time to chat though, that thing was still alive and looking for them. Holding up his right index finger a small flame lit up at the tip before he simply flicked it towards her. At first she thought she was gonna catch on fire but to her surprise instead of lighting her up it expanded more and more until a clear Grey dome formed around her. Just by toughing it she could tell it was a barrier and a strong one at that. So even though he looked different he still did care about her well beings. Once he turned his back he pointed down at the ground as if to tell her to stay put while he dealt with their friend and with a swift kick off the ground he flew out of the building.

In order to keep her safe he had to draw the creature away from her and to the west sounded good enough. With the shelter being to the north everyone including Alex and the others would be safe while he fought off the savage beast. Floating there he saw its gaze turn towards him as he moved towards the west district of the academy.

"Hehehahahah I thought it impossible that such a child could possibly be him. Yet here you stand, one of the fallen. Tell me how will it feel once your heart stops beating?" it asked as it opened up its palm.

So what did it have planned for its flying friend? Another laser? Nope instead its palm opened up as a large spike shot straight out of it. Once he saw it though he continued to stand his ground as the thin needle began closing in on him. She was confused, why wasn't he moving? All he was doing was floating in place with his arms crossed.

"Given up already? Shame I was hoping to play with you some more."

It looked as if it was all over for him when something strange happened. To start off he moved slightly to the left so that the spike couldn't hit him but then just as it passed him it stopped in mid air. Had he grabbed it with his mind? He hadn't grabbed it with his hands that was for sure, they were still tucked under each arm.

"Heh too bad you lose." he said as he moved to show what stopped the attack.

It seemed impossible but it was real. Instead of grabbing it with his actual hands his tail had taken the form of a thin shadow like hand and had extended to catch the spike before it could impact the wall. It must have been one powerful tail because as soon as he exposed his secret while his enemy was distracted he threw it full on at its shoulder, exactly where the next rune was. At first it seemed as if nothing had happened but unknown to his big friend he had charged its own attack with his dark flames and with a snap of his fingers the rune was blown to bits as blood gushed out of the wound.

"Such power, such strength, but I can't fail and I wont!"

If it ended up failing not only would it die but also fade into oblivion forever. As the wound continued to flow out it saw that its little friend had vanished but only for a second. As soon as he appeared in front of its face with all three fists lit aflame he continued his attack by beating in its face until parts of its exoskeleton mask began to crack.

"Such a joke you're too close!"

With its mouth opened it unleashed it's most devastating attack. A vale of light began to consume him as Mia watched from the confines of her barrier. The light was so intense even when she closed her eyes she could still see it but when it vanished she opened them once more and saw that not only had he stopped the attack but it was eating it. Eating and attack...eating and attack yep that that was new one for her!

"What is this, you should be dead right now!"

As its energy continues to flow through the beam their demonic friend just continued to eat and eat until his stomach couldn't handle no more. Just before he closed his mouth though his tail opened up as a fury of fire bombs began to push his enemy back across the ground.

"What are you?" she asked herself.

After that lovely meal he felt so rejuvenated and since the attack was composed of fire it only added to his power. Once he had his fill though he was ready to finish it for good. As it tried to regain its composure he began kicking and punching through the air to send wave after wave of attacks at it before he reached downward towards the pile of rubble. He needed a weapon and there was waiting waiting there just for him. With a wave of his hand his trusty black blade flew up and into his hand.

Using his quick swift ability he flew all around the creature and slice by slice cut off every limb until he plunged his blade right into the center of its being. No doubt the janitors were going to have one hell of a field day with his mess but he had to protect the academy and his love. With one final roar he pointed his sword straight at the beast as it began to regrow its limbs once more.

"Wait what are you doing?" he asked.

"You've caused nothing but havoc but it ends now! You're weak and now that I've got you it's time for Judgment!"

From out of nowhere the cracks in his body began to glow as the earth began to shake. At first it seemed like an earthquake but then from just above the ground a portal opened as chains began flying out of it, spiked chains of the damned.

"No please wait! You can't do this to me who do you think you are?!" it roared as it struggled with its bonds as they continued to wrap around its body.

"This is your punishment for trying to take the lives of our world. Creature you will spend eternity in Hell repenting for your sins!"

And with a simple thumbs down the beast began its decent into the pits of the underworld where it would burn for all eternity. As the portal began to close though the building around it began to fall apart from the quake as well as the one Mia was in. The barrier had grown weak over time thanks to the amount of power he had exerted to defeat the creature and if she didn't get out soon she was bound to end up like a pancake. The only problem was she couldn't deactivate the barrier only he could. She tried to break it apart with her wind but that didn't work and punching and kicking it didn't do much to it either. If she had her blade she may had been able to pry it between a crack and force it to shatter but her sword had been left on the other building.

"Damn it open, open, open!" she cried when suddenly it shattered.

Had she done that? It may had seemed that way but no before her eyes she saw her savior as he held up the top two floors of the building with both hands. His muscles couldn't handle it though as his arms began to give out to the weight but lucky for him he had a friend by his side to help. Using all the power she could muster she gathered up a ball of wind and with one toss completely lifted the two floors off his shoulders.

"Ugh you don't look too good." she said as she tried to hold up the rubble.

It was finally over and with a blast from his black flames a black orb enveloped the rocks and boulders before it shot up into the sky. With a large explosion the sky was lit up by the explosion as the rubble was reduced to ash. The rest of the building seemed pretty sound and that was good because as soon as he launched that attack his body collapsed and his mind blacked out. He had had enough for one day. Before he could fall to the ground though she caught him as his black flesh began to fade away while a bright light shined through the red sky.


	13. Chapter 13 Gods Among Mortals

Chapter 13

Gods Among Mortals

What had happened and why did his body feel so refreshed? The last thing he could remember was being blasted by that things laser then everything went black, he could have sworn he had been blasted to bit or had it all been just a dream and something happened while he was at the festival? Arko, he must have spiked the drinks with something. If his theory was true and that bastard was behind his blackout he was going to kick his pixie ass. As his eyes opened though things began to get even stranger.

"Hm, where am I?" he asked himself as a bright light shined above him.

He was in a bed for sure but it wasn't in his room instead when he turned his head he saw that instead of being in his dorm room he was in the hospital and that wasn't all. On the clock at his bedside it read that it was about four o'clock in the afternoon, had he really been asleep for that long? What was he doing in the hospital anyways? He had questions and someone had his answers, if anything he had to get up and find whoever took him in.

Once he swung the sheet off from over his body he spun his legs around and stood up. Oh he did really feel refreshed, in fact his body felt so reinvigorated. No, he had to get to the bottom of it. Once he pulled the curtain aside he stepped out to see if anyone had stayed to watch him.

"No one, really? Eh whatever let's just mozy on out of here." he said to himself.

The door was only a few feet away and with no doctors or nurses watching him it would have been a snap for him to just leave but then when he reached down into his pants pocket something was off.

"Oh no, Crimson Virgin...damn it dad! Where are you?" he asked himself as he searched frantically around for it.

That was his own weapon that his dad had given to him before he started at the academy and to lose it would have terrible after all the hard work he had put into it and the number of hours he had attempted to create a perfect blade. Looking under the bed didn't help or in the desk drawer, either the doctor had taken it from him or he himself had misplaced it before he blacked out. Though both theories were proven wrong when he looked over to the supplies desk just to his left next to the bed across from him.

"Oh thank gods, who's bright idea was to put it over here anyways?"

Eh he didn't care he just wanted to leave and to find Mia so that they could find out why he was in the hospital. Once his weapon was back in his pocket he was ready to head out but just when he was about to step away from the desk things got crazier.

"What in the hell...?"

Who was that in the mirror? It couldn't have been him could it? No he looked nothing like him, someone had to had been pulling a mirror illusion on him or something. That black hair that hand down his neck and those red irises in his eyes with two slits for his pupils, that couldn't have been him. There was only one way to find out though, with a set of small scissors he snipped only a bit of the front of his hair off and let it fall into his hand.

"No way, what is this?"

In his hand he held the same black hair he saw in the mirror. When he reached up to feel his hair it didn't feel spiky anymore either. What he saw in the mirror was the real him. Those red eyes just stared back at him as the medical wing echoed with yell of terror and confusion.

It sure didn't take his friends long to respond to cries for help for only second after they died down the door burst open as everyone came running in. Everyone, Mia, her mother and father, Arko, Alex and his instructors and all looked rather worried about him.

"Does anyone want to explain this? Is this a joke or something?" he asked as he tried to calm down.

"Calm down, just take a seat and we'll answer you're questions." said Alex as he pulled up a chair.

"Oh no, no, no,no, I want to know why did this. Who said it would be a good idea to change my hair and eyes?! Arko, I swear if you did this...?" he replied as he grabbed the collar of his outfit.

"Chill, I didn't do anything to your hair or eyes although it is an improvement."

What was he suppose to think? If none of them messed with him while he was out how had he changed? Then he thought back, had that dream been real? No it couldn't have been, if it had been he should have been dead.

"Malik please just sit, we want to help you but we can't if you keep acting like this." said Mia.

"But I can't just sit down I if none of you did this then who did?"

His answers could have come no sooner though as the door flew open and from the entrance came a stream of what looked like white smoke of some kind. All it did was twist and turn around their feet before it shot upwards. From the smoke though they could all feel some kind of presence but not one they had felt before, one of magic unlike anything they had ever felt.

"You did this to yourself." he heard a girl say as the smoke began to dissipate.

From the presence they had felt they expected someone as old as Alex to step out of the mist but instead all they got was a girl who looked almost twelve who had long blue hair and green eyes who also had pointed ears. Was that it? That was the presence they felt, that small girl?

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"Didn't you hear me? I said you did it to yourself, the reason you look the way you do is because you." she said as she adjusted her green and yellow cloak.

"Alright then please explain, how could I have done this if I was out like a light? Got an answer for that?"

Who was this girl? She couldn't have had the answers but then again she did have an intense magical presence. She was just a child though so how?

"Don't get smart with me I may not look it but I've lived at least a hundreds of thousands of your lifetimes now shut it and let me explain." she said as she reached down her sleeve and pulled out a piece of paper.

If she was telling the truth and she really did have his answers then it was his duty to shut his mouth and let her talk. Even if she wasn't the kindest of people he could at least respect her. Upon unrolling the parchment there on the white surface was the face of a man, one that looked familiar but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Isn't that the Demon Lord?" asked Gerald.

"Yep, see the similarities?" she asked as she flew over next to him so that they could compare the images.

"I don't know his head looks a bit bigger than Malik's here." said David as they looked over the picture.

"Of course it's bigger he was older. Do you see it now Malik, have your questions been answered?"

The more he looked at the picture though the more he noticed the similarities between him and the old titan. The hair was almost the same in terms of color and style and so were the eyes but the facial structure wasn't quite his.

"So you made me look like the Demon Lord?"

"No! Don't you get it? You are the Demon Lord, you are the Titan of Darkness!"

At first he had almost fallen for his joke but he wasn't born yesterday. Someone must have changed his hair color and eye color with a spell or something. There was no way someone as plain as he was could have been a god.

"Nice trick but how do I know you're not just pulling my leg?"

"Because I saw you, you got blasted to bits then when your mortal body was destroyed you're true self was set free and your instincts took over as a result. You're one of us."

Everyone waited to see what his reaction was going to be next but slowly his face began to sulk a bit as he thought back to that previous afternoon. The flashbacks he had been having, the woman with white and the monster who threatened the world. Everything began to come together in his mind like a puzzle as he began wobbling towards the door.

"Malik wait." Mia said as she tried to stop him.

"I-I need some air." he replied in a stressed out tone as he struggled to grab the doorknob.

When he got outside and looked over that balcony he saw that what had been destroyed of the school had been rebuilt as he struggled to walk down the stairs. There was no way he was a god, no way no way! His mind wasn't right and he needed some air to calm it down.

"Who are you...?" he asked the girl as she followed him down.

"You still can't remember? Geez you're memory is still terrible after all these years. It's Rosalina, Titan of Nature."

"And who am I?"

"You're Sephalor, Titan of Darkness, the Demon Lord and righter of the Hell Beasts."

Oh his stomach wasn't feeling so hot, the more he thought about it the more he wanted to barf. Things were certainly getting heavy.


	14. Chapter 14 The Threat

Chapter 14

The Threat

What had happened, just a few days ago he had been just an average, ordinary mage and swordsman but no instead he turned into some kind of cut rate god. What would others think of him when they found out? His hair wasn't all that abnormal but his eyes, those red eyes would certainly attract attention. What was he suppose to feel? Happiness, sadness, anger, insanity, how could he feel after being told that he was one of the titans? To never grow old and never die, was that something he was prepared for?

"Here's your water." said Mia as she handed him the little paper cup of fresh water.

Oh she expected a response from him? Well she didn't get it instead he just took the cup and took a sip before he raised his head slightly. So many thoughts, it was giving him such a headache just thinking about what could happen next.

"Hey come on cheer up you're still you just a more..."

What was she suppose to say, was he more hansom? Perhaps he was stronger, but then again that probably wouldn't have lifted his spirits very much. If she completely honest with herself she didn't know what to think either, her friend was a god how did one get over that? Still his new look was rather cute and his red eyes were very beautiful. What was she thinking she had a friend that was down in the dumps and instead she was looking him up?

"Yeah you really need to get a hold of yourself. After how will you protect the mortal while in such a gloom and doom mood?"

"You're a god, can't you just you know, take away my powers or something? Can't I go back to being a normal guy?"

"Nope, sorry bud but once your body was destroyed to faded away so that your true self could come out. Don't worry though the transformations should be about done."

"Almost done?"

How ironic because as soon as she mentioned it something tore right through the back of his pants and he had a pretty good idea of what it was.

"A tail?"

"Yep, a tail." Rosalina teased as she sipped her honey.

"Heheh hahahohoh oh gods I'm insane." he said to himself as his tail waged back and forth.

"Indeed you are." his fellow titan replied.

"Oh but it is kind of cute." said Mia as she tried to grab it.

"Yeah as cute as a demon can be. So tell me Malik can you remember anything about your past? You mentioned a few flashbacks am I right?"

All he wanted to do was to take a nap and to forget about what happened. His stomach was still a bit uneasy from what he had just found out almost thirty minutes ago but other than that he didn't feel as bad as before.

"Yeah, when I was attacking that thing images of some woman with white hair and this giant creature kept appearing in my head and I just felt so angry towards the thing."

"Interesting, can you remember anything else? Your fighting style, the spells you most commonly used, anything?"

He could only shake his head at those questions, he knew nothing about the Demon Lords fighting style or even one of his spells.

"Well don't worry over time they may come back to you but in the mean time we'll be watching over you. To be honest as a Demon Lord you suck pretty hard, back in your past life you use to take down monsters that size in mere seconds but I guess it's expected. Once you've powered up you'll be good to go."

Their conversation was cut short however when David and Gerald walked in with sweat running down their foreheads. What had they been doing, running a marathon or something because they sure looked like they had.

"Woe what's up old timers?" asked the female titan as she continued reading.

"OK first off we're not old and second they've arrived."

"Who has?" asked Mia.

"His mother and father."

In that single moment he felt as if the whole world had come crashing down on him. What were they thinking bringing them there especially with how he looked? How were they going to break it to them that their oldest child was a titan? His mother hadn't been as protective as she had been in the past but still what would she think and his father, oh gods his father! No, no he couldn't go see them at least not until he calmed down.

There was no avoiding it as he sat there in the principles office his parents were on their way up and when they saw him what were they going to think, especially his little sister. Since he was the oldest she always looked up to him kind of like a role model but once she saw what he had become what would her reaction be? Only time would tell as the minutes began to tick down.

While they waited in the office though Alex and Sue were escorting his parents directly to his office in the main building at the center of the school but while they were happy they came it scared the hell out of Alex as to what they were going to think of not only him but of the school after they found out what happened.

"So you called us down here for what exactly?" asked Caz as he followed the two.

"Well, something happened earlier today as you could probably tell by some of the damage. There were complications dealing with the situation and, well, your son may have gotten into mix a bit."

"Gotten into the mix? My baby is alright isn't he?" asked Elise.

"Oh yeah he's perfectly fine but there's something we have to discuss." replied Sue.

"Like what?" followed Caz.

"Like what happened here today, trust me you're going to love it."

As much as she was glad that they came she just couldn't wait to see their reaction when they saw their son, especially from the little girl that followed them. Just imagining their faces when they were told the truth almost made her giggle. Still they were his parents and they had every right to be worried about their child.

Floor by floor they walked up until they reached the tenth floor where his office was. So the time had come. Whatever happened from then on would he his responsibility and for his sake he hoped they wouldn't want to kill him. As he reached for the two handles he stopped and turned to the three.

"Would you like anything to eat before we proceed? We have this lovely steak that you have to try."

By Caz's deathly gaze he got the feeling that they weren't hungry, so much for his plan. With a single gulp he pulled open the doors and without a second though they all walked into the room while Sue closed the doors behind them. There they were, Mia, her parents, David, Rosalina who seemed more content with that magazine than anything else, and Malik who sat there with his hands on his lap and his balls up inside his body.

"So where is he?" asked Caz.

"Oh come on brother don't you recognize your own son?" teased David.

They were all very confused, out of the group none of them looked like their child.

"Is this some kind of joke? Where's our son?" Elise asked angrily as she glared at Alex and Sue.

Woe, and Sue thought her glare was penetrating but her's was so much more intense especially with those pink eyes of her that just tugged at her soul. Yep she was definitely a mother alright and one that they didn't want to get in front of.

"Oh for crying out loud..." said Rosalina as she got up from her seat.

Now a normal person would have picked him up and brought him over but nope she had her own methods. Instead she literally kicked his ass out of the chair and sent him rolling across the floor before he stopped at their feet. Was that really necessary? No, was it effective? Yes it was. It didn't take long though for his little sister Nala to figure out who he was, even if he looked nothing like he had before she still recognized that jacket that he always wore when training and the small stitches that their mother had to make to fix it up.

"Malik?" she asked as he sat up after cracking his back.

For her he had to put on a smile, his little thirteen year old sister recognized him when his own parents didn't. She still had those two little ponytails on the back of her head just as she had when she was a little girl but since then she had grown up quite a bit and since she was ten her magic had been coming into effect.

"What, you're joking. This isn't our son, our boy has brown spiky hair and brown eyes not wild black hair and red eyes. What do you take us for morons?" his father asked as he hissed at the group.

"No dad their not lying it really is me."

For a split second it looked as if he was going to lash out at him but when he heard his sons voice coming from that body he stopped. Could he really be his son he wondered? What had caused his change and what was with the red eyes.

"I know that you both probably have a lot of questions so please sit and we will explain." said Alex as he pulled up a chair for all three.

Once their butts were firmly planted in the seats he sat down at his desk and took a deep breathe. Whatever was to come he was prepared for the worst.

"Earlier today the academy was attacked by a creature, one of which we had never seen before. It wasn't mortal nor feral but it did have a apatite for destruction and death. When me and my fellow companions tried to fend it off we discovered that it had the ability of mass regeneration but when my friend Sue here was in danger your son rushed in and saved her life. Within the scuffle however he was attacked and for a minute we thought he was dead but instead he became something...more."

"Oh is my little boy hurt?!" she asked her son as she pulled him over for a unnecessarily tight hug.

Great not only was he a god but he was a god getting the life squeezed out of him by his own mother while his friends watched. It was so embarrassing to but worse had happened so it wasn't too bad.

"What exactly do you mean he became something more?"

"Alright you can take a rest right now, I'll explain it to them. Remember fifty years ago when the Demon Lord perished in the fight to save this world?"

"Yeah what of it?"

"Well he didn't really die. You see when a titan dies they don't die in the sense of a mortal. Instead their spirit drifts unconsciously through the world until they find a host to be reborn in. Get the picture now?"

"Wait hold on, so you're saying our son, the son that we created together is the Demon Lord? You're pulling our leg right?"

"Nope, it's difficult to know when exactly the spirit chooses a body to inhabit but once it takes form into a mortal woman she's stuck with it. In short you did help in making him by giving him a mortal body but since that's gone we got, this." she said as she motioned over to the smuggled demon.

What was he suppose to say after all of that. Everything they had told them seemed to connect with how he looked. Since his mortal body had been destroyed his true demon form had been awakened from within and from it took the shape of their new son, or old son.

"Awe was my little baby hurt?" she asked as she kissed her forehead.

"Alright mom you can stop now...please." he said as he pulled away from her.

"So what you're saying is that he can't return to what he looked like before? He's stuck like this?" he asked.

"Pretty much yeah."

"Oh, this is pretty heavy stuff." he said as he took a deep breath.

"Indeed but we have other issues to attend to. That monster you fought today Malik, that wasn't just any monster. It was one of Zegnem's goons."

"Zegnem, what?" asked Malik.

"Fifty years ago you managed to seal him away in another world of darkness and despair before you died but it seems that he's been set free and now roams the earth waiting for his strength to return."

"So you're saying that he created that thing? It must have taken quite the magic to do so." followed Alex.

"Yeah, a ton of magic but the biggest question is why? My theory is that he sensed that the Demon Lord had returned but only now he could pick up on his magical presence."

"But why now? He's been alive for eighteen years so why not during the point of his life when he was young and weak?" asked Gerald.

"Easy, his mortal body had been covering up his presence but since he was starting to mature it slowly began to leak out and it wasn't until now that he could track him down and kill him."

"Let me guess, he wants to find him and kill him so that he can't be stopped again? Well if this guy is weak then let's kick his ass right now!" replied David.

"Easy mortal, it's not that easy. He hides within the shadows. He could be anywhere at any time, but we do have a plan. For the time being I'll set up a a special barrier that will alert me and others when something suspicious starts going down."

After everything that had happened that day he was just glad that it was almost over. Even though his head was still filled with questions he just wanted to lay face down on his bed and try to forget about it all but he had a feeling that wasn't going to happen.


End file.
